The 23rd anniversary of the military offensive Operation Storm which ended Croatia's 1991-95 war of independence will be marked in an official ceremony in the town of Knin on August 5, with President Grabar-Kitarovic awarding decorations to retired Croatian generals Ante Gotovina and Mladen Markac.

State official at the War Veterans’ Ministry, Ivan Vukic, called on all wartime commanders who took part in Operation Storm to come to Knin and witness the moment of Grabar-Kitarovic giving state decorations to Gotovina and Markac.

He added that along with the Interior Ministry, they will finance the arrival of 15 busloads of patriotic revellers from all over the country, as well as two trains from the cities of Split and Zagreb.

Some 800 soldiers are expected to take part in the official celebration programme, which will include a display of wartime flags, a military parade, gun salutes, flyovers of helicopters and airplanes, and a performance by the Croatian Air Force’s aerobatics group, Krila Oluje (Wings of Storm).

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