PeopleattendtheceremonyoftheRemembranceDayfortheVictimsoftheNATOAggression,inKraljevo,Serbia,March24,2022.(Xinhua/ShiZhongyu)

BombingsofYugoslaviastartedonMarch24,1999,withoutthepreviousauthorizationoftheUnitedNations(UN)SecurityCouncil.

SOMBOR,Serbia,March24(Xinhua)--TheNorthAtlanticTreatyOrganization(NATO)"saggressionagainstYugoslavia24yearsagomarkedthedeathofinternationallaw,SerbianPresidentAleksandarVucicsaidonFridayatacommemorationeventinthecityofSombor,wherethefirstbombfellin1999.

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"24yearsago,themoderninternationallawfinallydied,andyoushouldknowthatitisnotanunimportantbureaucraticwording--butmuchmorethanthat,"Vucicsaid.

"Nothingworsecouldhappenintheworldthanwhatwasdonehere,toasmallcountry,whichwasguiltyonlyofseekingtomakeitsowndecisions,andtobefree.Assuchitdidn"tappealtothosepowerswhichdestroyedtheoldinternationalorderin1989/90andcreatedanewoneinwhichonlytheyhavethefinalsayineverything,"Vucicsaid.

HewasaddressingalargecrowdofpeoplewhogatheredattheSt.GeorgeSquareinSombor,wavingSerbianflagsandlightingcandlesforthevictimsofthebombings,whichmostofthemseeasanactofinjustice.

SerbianPresidentAleksandarVucic(C)attendstheceremonyoftheRemembranceDayfortheVictimsoftheNATOAggression,inKraljevo,Serbia,March24,2022.(Xinhua/ShiZhongyu)

BombingsofYugoslaviastartedonMarch24,1999,withoutthepreviousauthorizationoftheUnitedNations(UN)SecurityCouncil.

Duringthe78-daybombingsofbothcivilianandmilitarytargets,Serbialostthousandsofpolicemen,soldiersandcivilians,andsufferedimmensematerialdamagetoitstransportandenergyinfrastructure.

AmongNATO"stargetswerehousesandapartmentbuildings,schools,hospitals,andevenkindergartens,whiletheweaponsdeployedincludedmissilescontainingdepleteduraniumandclusterbombs.

TheChineseembassy,wherethreejournalistslosttheirlives,andthebuildingoftheSerbiannationalbroadcasterRTS,werealsoamongthetargets.

WreathsareseenatmemorialplaquesdedicatedtothethreeChinesejournalistskilledintheNATObombingoftheformerChineseembassyintheFederalRepublicofYugoslaviain1999,inBelgrade,Serbia,May7,2022.(PhotobyWangWei/Xinhua)

VucicalsocommentedontheongoingRussia-Ukraineconflict,callingWesternsupportfortheterritorialintegrityofUkraine"hypocriticalandtwo-faced"--becauseitisbasedontheUNCharter,whichhebelieveswasbrokenin1999