Kosovo War

Cultural  

1. A brief war fought in 1999 between NATO and Serbia, the main remnant of the former Yugoslavia, over the status of the Yugoslavian province of Kosovo. In 1998, Serbian president Slobodan Milosevic sent Serbian troops to take back areas of Kosovo controlled by ethnic Albanian guerrillas, triggering a NATO air campaign in 1999. The war ended when Serbia agreed to a peace agreement sponsored by the United Nations.

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The Kosovo War was NATO's first military engagement. It was controversial in part because NATO was not repelling an attack on member states but intervening in what was arguably an internal affair.

Example Sentences

Dedicated to the victims of the Kosovo War, the 82-year-old's choral work from 2000 reflects on the devastation of conflict while expressing hope for peace.

From BBC • Apr. 7, 2026

The Albanian-language film about a woman who starts her own business after the Kosovo War was an inspirational gem, but Basholli hadn’t even dared to dream of just how far they would go.

From Seattle Times • Jan. 29, 2022

Serbia, which still considers Kosovo part of its territory, has been organising elections for its ethnic kin since the Kosovo War ended in 1999.

From Reuters • Jan. 15, 2022

After the collapse of Soviet Union and the start of the Kosovo War, Italy was an entry point to the west for ethnic Albanians fleeing persecution.

From New York Times • Mar. 13, 2020

In March, Kosoko Jackson pulled his first novel, a romantic thriller about a relationship between two teenage boys set in the Kosovo War, after a Goodreads reviewer called it out for representational offenses.

From Slate • May 1, 2019