Reduction Of Russian Contingent In Kosovo Did Not Affect Its Combat Capabilities

Commander of the multinational forces for Kosovo (KFOR) Lieutenant-General Marcel Valentin highly assessed the level of combat readiness of Russian peace-keepers in Kosovo. In the course of his three-day stay in the Russian military contingent in Kosovo, which ended on Friday, General Marcel Valentin indicated that "reduction of the strength of the Russian military contingent did not diminish its combat capabilities". According to him, Russian military contingent "continued to be one of the most efficient KFOR units and was ready to fully implement peace-keeping objectives assigned to it". A representative of the KFOR headquarters indicated that the visit of the chief of the Kosovo peace-keeping operation to the Russian military contingent was necessitated by certain doubts expressed by KFOR and NATO leadership regarding the capabilities of the Russian military contingent to achieve peace-keeping objectives assigned to it after its strength was reduced.