site.bta80th Anniversary of Bulgaria's Stracin-Kumanovo Operation in WW II Marked in North Macedonia

The eightieth anniversary of Bulgaria's participation in the final stage of World War II was commemorated near Stracin in the eastern part of the Republic of North Macedonia. Priests from Bulgaria and the Republic of North Macedonia conducted a prayer service for the Bulgarian soldiers who died in the battles of Strazhin and Stracin in October 1944.

The Bulgarian Armed Forces conducted the Stracin-Kumanovo offensive operation between October 8 and November 14, 1944, sustaining over 1,000 casualties. The Paratrooper Battalion of Bulgaria's First Army distinguished itself in the battles for capturing the strategic Strazhin position blocking the road to Skopje. 

The delegation that arrived from Bulgaria for the commemoration was led by Major General Yavor Mateev, Commander of the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), Chief of the Central Military District, Georgi Georgiev,  Bulgarian servicemen from the Southeastern Europe Brigade, members of the JSOC, representatives of the Military and Patriotic Unions and veterans from the Second World War. 

The ceremony was also attended by the Ambassador of Bulgaria in North Macedonia, Zhelyazko Radukov, the Consul General in Bitola, Nikolay Dimitrov, the Bulgarian Military Attaché Lieutenant Colonel Assen Lambev and the Assistant Military Attaché Major Diyan Dinev, diplomats from the missions of Bulgaria in North Macedonia, representatives of the associations of the local Bulgarian community.

"80 years ago our ancestors fought on these lands", Yavor Mateev said in his address. "Their heroism is an obligation to us. And all those who have served in the last decades in the special forces of Bulgaria in the past years have borne this responsibility to the Motherland. It is a privilege that here are two heroes, contemporaries and participants in the battles - Major Andonov and Maria Stoyanova. I bow down to your heroism. And for having the energy, will and strength to be here today." Mateev highlighted the crucial role of the Bulgarian army in liberating these lands from the fascist occupiers. "The then Bulgarian soldier fought for a better Europe, the kind of Europe that the Republic of North Macedonia aspires to join", he added. "Let there be harmony among people to move towards a united Europe."

"This battle has a very symbolic meaning for the Bulgarian army", said Bulgarian Ambassador Zhelyazko Radukov. He stressed the complex geopolitical conditions, when a new power in Bulgaria radically changed the state policies and gave the Paratrooper Battalion a most difficult task. "And in spite of all doubts, of the complexity of the task, the Paratroopers accomplished it: at the cost of many sacrifices, but it accomplished it nontheless", Radukov said. 

During the commemoration, a greeting address was read on behalf of the Chairman of the Union of War Veterans Ivan Sechanov, and veteran Maria Stoyanova presented Gen. Mateev a badge of appreciation on behalf of the Union.

Wreaths and flowers were laid at the site of the commemoration on behalf of the Bulgarian Embassy in Skopje, the JSOC commander and the staff, the Bulgarian Consulate General in Bitola, the Union of Reserve Officers and Sergeants, the Union of Bulgarian Paratroopers, by Bulgarian associations in the Republic of North Macedonia and by relatives of the Bulgarian soldiers who died in the battles of Stracin and Strazhin.