Skopje, 12 January 2026 (MIA) - Defense Minister Vlado Misajlovski and the Army’s Chief of Staff, Maj. Gen. Sashko Lafchiski, laid flowers Monday at the memorial to the eleven army peacekeepers who died in a helicopter crash near Katlanovo’s Blace 18 years ago while returning from the ALTHEA mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina. 

Minister Misajlovski said their mission was noble, noting they would never be forgotten since through their deeds they showed what it means to love the country and the homeland.

At the memorial site near Katlanovsko Blace, the peacekeepers were honored by their families, along with delegations from the Operations Command, the First Infantry Brigade, the Air Brigade, and the Municipality of Petrovec. 

With a minute of silence and the laying of wreaths, members of the Air Brigade paid respects to their fallen members – both at the memorial in front of the Air Brigade Command at the Strasho Pindzur barracks in Petrovec, and at the memorial park in Camp Butmir in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, where the peacekeepers served as part of the ALTHEA operation. 

The helicopter crash, which occurred on this day eighteen years ago, claimed the lives of Lieutenant-Colonel Toni Spasovski, Major Goran Ristovski, Captains Brane Spasovski and Igor Gjoreski, Master Sergeants Slavcho Vasilev and Toni Davitkovski, Staff Sergeants Janko Siric, Miki Ivanovski, Aleksandar Taskovski and Aleksandar Vasic, as well as Corporal Zlatko Veljanovski. 

Photo: Defense Ministry