Croatia marks the 31st anniversary of Operation Storm, with the central ceremony held in Knin. Colonel Boris Mamut told N1 how the Croatian Air Force played a key role and shared his personal testimony.
Croatia on Wednesday, August 5, 2026, marks Victory and Homeland Thanksgiving Day, Croatian Veterans Day, and the 31st anniversary of Operation Storm. The central ceremony is held in Knin, where the celebration began with a traditional morning wake-up call. The Croatian flag will be raised at the Knin Fortress, and 245 cadets of the Croatian Army and trainees of the Police Academy will line up in memory of fallen and missing defenders.
Nearly 200,000 members of the Croatian Army and Police took part in the operation, which lasted 85 hours, liberating more than 11,000 square kilometers of occupied territory.
Colonel Boris Mamut of the Croatian Air Force, coordinator of air defense in the implementation headquarters for aviation activities, spoke to N1 Studio live from Knin. He emphasized that the operation began with the Air Force's actions.
"Storm began with an air attack. In the first two days of Operation Storm, the Croatian Air Force struck a total of 27 high-value targets and conducted over 250 combat sorties, not to mention further actions..."
Mamut stressed the crucial role the Air Force played throughout the operation. "The Croatian Air Force played a major role, and we can say that Storm started with the actions of the Croatian Air Force," the colonel said.
In a conversation with N1 journalists Hanan Nanić and Borna Šmer, Colonel Mamut also shared his personal war experience. He recounted that his father, a defender, was killed in the war, and he himself was wounded. His grandfather also lost his life.
"After the fall of our village, we went to neighboring Stankovci and defended that place. That's when I said I had seen the gates of hell. But what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. I gained even more motivation to return to my birthplace. A man is nothing without his history, without his roots," he says.
His testimony is a powerful message about returning and the importance of preserving identity and roots, especially on a day when we remember the greatest victory in the Homeland War.
