Russia reacts to Kosovo killing

KFOR peacekeepers have regularly come under fire

MOSCOW, Russia -- Russia's peacekeeping troops will not withdraw from Kosovo after the killing of one its soldiers, a Russian general has been quoted as saying.

Russia blamed ethnic Albanian rebels for the soldier's death as his unit came under mortar and sniper fire on the Serbia-Kosovo border on Wednesday.

The dead man was named as paratroop sergeant Mikhail Shuitsev.

Russia's RIA news agency quoted paratroop force commander Georgy Shpak as saying the Russian force in Kosovo would not be withdrawn or increased after what he called the "tragic death."

A spokesman for the NATO-led KFOR peacekeeping force said the soldier was killed during an operation to mark out Kosovo's northeastern boundary with Serbia near the village of Zuja.

He said the Russian's killer had not been unidentified.

Interfax news agency quoted a source in the Russian General Staff as blaming KFOR for being too lenient with ethnic Albanian gunmen, which led to the soldier's death.

It also quoted a Foreign Ministry diplomat as saying Moscow wanted the United Nations Security Council to make a statement condemning an "act of terrorism."

Russian troops are part of the 35,000-strong NATO-led multi-national peace force deployed in Kosovo, which is mainly populated by ethnic Albanians, many of whom are seeking independence from Serbian-dominated federal Yugoslavia.

KFOR has begun marking the boundary between Kosovo and Serbia in preparation for a return of Yugoslav forces to a section of the post-war buffer strip set up after the 1999 Kosovo conflict.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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NATO
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
U.N. in Kosovo

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