Eagle, I don't want to form an alliance anymore.

“I was just saying.” Bearded man picked up his gun again. “I just don’t understand why we had to get involved in the mess that is Yugoslavia.”

What kind of place is that? Tito's system isn't socialism anymore; the political commissar talks about revisionism. My dad used to call Tito a traitor, and now look what's happened—we're being made to work for this stuff.”

"Keep your voice down!" "Are you out of your mind?" Several voices came from inside the tent.

Did I say something wrong?

The bearded man's voice softened: "What does it have to do with us if their own people kill each other? Why should our young men die?"

Seryozha didn't speak. He had similar thoughts in his mind, but he wasn't as bold as Hu Zi to say them aloud.

He was thinking that the sunflowers at home should have been harvested by now, and his mother was harvesting them all by herself while his younger brother was still small. He was also thinking about the bag of sunflower seeds his mother had given him when he boarded the train three weeks ago. He hadn't been able to bear eating them, afraid that once they were gone, the taste of home would be gone.

He thought, if they really break in tomorrow, should I eat that bag of sunflower seeds tonight?

He stuffed the bag of sunflower seeds back into the back of his backpack, turned over, and closed his eyes.

"Di-"

The entire camp was woken up in the middle of the night.

A line of trucks drove into the camp with their headlights on, unloading paint—white, blue, red, but mostly white.

The Hungarian helicopter arrived and landed on the open ground next door. The wind made the tents rustle, and they were unloading paint.

Seryozha was given a brush.

The platoon leader yelled at the top of his lungs, ordering everyone to paint all the tanks, armored vehicles, and other vehicles that could be painted white. It had to be done before dawn; that was the mission!

"White?" Bearded man held up the brush, looking like he'd seen a ghost. "Comrade Platoon Leader, are we really going to paint it white?"

"Yes, go and revamp the turret of vehicle number 013!"

So, in the latter half of that night, the entire division climbed onto tanks to paint them. Seryozha was assigned to the T-72 of the 3rd Company, and he rode on the turret, covering his green camouflage, which he had used for who knows how many years, with white paint.

The smell of paint made him cough. The November night in Hungary was quite cold. His fingers were stiff and white paint splattered all over his face, and he couldn't wipe it off.

As dawn broke, he straightened up and glanced at the scene—hundreds of white tanks were lined up in the morning mist on the entire fallow land, like a herd of huge livestock lying on the ground, their nature unknown.

He had never seen a tank of this color before; nobody had ever seen one.

After painting it white, two large blue letters, "UN," were to be drawn on one side of the turret, along with the United Nations flag. The Soviet flag was to be painted on the other side.

The Soviet red flag was easy to draw; anyone could do it. But few people in the company knew how to draw the United Nations flag. Everyone could only trace it from the original. Seryozha wasn't a very good artist, and the latitude and longitude lines on the flag were drawn crookedly.

Someone was distributing things nearby. They wore blue vests and helmets, also with the white "UN" printed on them.

"Platoon leader," he couldn't help but ask, "why did you paint the camouflage on our tanks such a conspicuous white? Isn't this...isn't this as if you're afraid people won't see us? In a battle, we'll be sitting ducks!"

The platoon leader was also trying to put on the blue vest, but he couldn't get it on properly for a long time. In the end, Seryozha helped him pull it on.

The platoon leader straightened his blue helmet before saying, "We need to make sure people can see it."

"what?"

"The political commissar will convey the spirit of the meeting after the meeting. Our officers have already had a meeting in advance. I can tell you in advance that this time we will represent the United Nations and the will of the five permanent members of the Security Council, the Soviet Union, the United States, France, the United Kingdom and China, to safeguard peace."

The platoon leader patted the white-painted tank, his hands covered in wet paint: "We're there to let both sides of the war see us. We're here to tell them: Stop fighting, peace has arrived!"

We are the guiding light for those people, understand? Seryozha, we're doing something important this time.

Seryozha didn't quite understand what "lighthouse" meant, nor did he understand why their Soviet armed forces had to represent the will of the Americans, but he roughly understood:

They stopped killing people.

The weight on his heart lifted a little.

At this moment, the person who spoke up was Beard. He had also changed into a blue helmet, and his unkempt beard, contrasting with the blue steel helmet, made him look several years older.

"Platoon leader," the bearded man's tone was no longer as aggressive as it had been in the tent.

"Then what's the difference between us and those old comrades from the International Brigades back then? Well... I heard my dad talk about those comrades who came from all over the world to help during the Spanish Civil War."

This question stumped the few people painting nearby.

International Brigade?

They had all heard of those four words. They were in the textbooks of Seryozha's primary school, with an illustration of a group of people wearing berets carrying a flag, saying that workers from all over the world had gone to Spain to prevent the fascists from winning.

He always felt that it was something very long, very distant, and very remarkable, and had nothing to do with him, a sunflower grower.

Somehow, the news reached the political commissar. At that moment, the political commissar was walking along the convoy, checking the paint job on each vehicle. He walked over and stopped next to the T-72 with the UN painted crookedly on it, and heard someone repeat the issue of the mustache.

The political commissar was a tall, thin man who didn't talk much. He looked at the two worn-out letters, then at the group of young men with white paint on their hands and wearing blue helmets.

"Difference? Huge difference!"

He paused for a moment.

“Those comrades went there voluntarily. No one gave them orders, no one paid them, and no one guaranteed they would come back alive. They just went because they heard that people were being oppressed there. They went to take bullets and give their lives for a country that had nothing to do with them.”

The sound of propellers filled the sky as several white-painted helicopters flew overhead, their cabins adorned with the blue flag of the United Nations and the red flag of East Germany.

The political commissar pointed to the helicopter overhead: "To be honest, we definitely can't compare to them. We have orders, we have a formal organization, we have the backing of the nation and the United Nations, and if anything happens, the state will take care of it. We are..."

He found a phrase: "We can only be considered their shadows."

"Shadow?" the bearded man repeated.

“A shadow.” The political commissar nodded. “But a shadow also reflects a person.”

I hope that one day, the International Brigades can truly return to this world and liberate all the oppressed people under heaven.

That day hasn't come yet, but today we'll climb onto these tanks, paint them white, drive them to where people are dying, and stand between two groups of people who are bloodthirsty—”

He nodded.

"At least we're heading in that direction, at least we're moving in that direction."

No one spoke; it was already bright daylight.

The political commissar patted Seryozha on the shoulder; his own hands were also covered in paint, leaving a white mark on Seryozha's brand-new blue vest. Then he walked along the convoy to check on the next vehicle.

Seryozha looked down at the white handprint on his shoulder.

At 6:30, engines started one after another. The roar rolled across the Hungarian plains, startling flocks of birds in the distance.

A long line of white tanks drove south, one after another. The morning mist hadn't completely dissipated, and the shadow of the lead tank flickered in the fog.

Seryozha leaned half his body out of the hatch of the troop carrier and looked back. Behind him was a long white dragon, with blue and red flags fluttering side by side on each vehicle, stretching all the way out of his sight.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Following behind the Soviet troops, peacekeeping forces from other Warsaw Pact member states also advanced.

Bulgaria, Romania, and Hungary all had historical conflicts with Yugoslavia, and sending combat troops directly would be too sensitive, so they sent medical teams, logistics troops, and engineers instead.

Poland sent a regiment, and East Germany also sent a regiment.

Syria and Iraq each deployed several battalions. The presence of troops from these two Middle Eastern countries in the peacekeeping operation in the Balkans seems somewhat odd geographically.

However, the Soviet Union needed to demonstrate that this was not an "action by European whites," but a joint action by peace-loving socialist countries around the world. Therefore, the Soviet Union specifically recruited some soldiers from the Middle East to appease the Muslims in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The Warsaw Pact gathered a total of 16,000 people who entered Yugoslavia first.

The European Community also sent personnel. France contributed the most, sending several thousand combat troops from the Foreign Legion, including infantry and armored units. Britain also sent several thousand.

West Germany, constrained by its ununified political situation, only sent medical teams and engineers. Denmark, Spain, Belgium, and the Netherlands each sent several hundred people.

Italy did not send ground combat troops; instead, it chose to serve as the logistical hub for the peacekeeping operation. Its port is located just across the Adriatic Sea, making it the most convenient route for supplies to be transported to Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The European Community gathered approximately eight thousand people in total.

China has been the most cautious. Beijing has consistently maintained reservations about peacekeeping operations, especially the mandatory peacekeeping mandates under Chapter VII.

"Non-interference in internal affairs" is one of the core principles of China's diplomacy.

At the invitation of the Soviet Union, China eventually dispatched a small team of logistics, medical, and engineering personnel, primarily tasked with evacuating its citizens and providing humanitarian aid. China had numerous engineering projects in Yugoslavia; cooperation between China and Yugoslavia dates back to the Tito era, and now the Chinese workers on these projects needed to be evacuated.

The United States established an infantry brigade. Its existence primarily demonstrates that this is not a Soviet-led monopoly, nor is it an East-West confrontation.

This is a global movement.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

A UN peacekeeping force of 35,000 people from more than 20 countries began entering Yugoslavia in mid-November 1991.

On the highway, convoys of white vehicles bearing the UN logo drove between Serb and Bolivian villages. Some of the people standing by the roadside were villagers, others were armed militiamen; they watched silently as the foreign convoys passed.

Some waved at them, some spat at them. But the war did not stop because of their arrival.

Now, amidst the gunfire and trenches of Yugoslavia, a group of foreigners wearing blue helmets have arrived. They come with the authority to use force to maintain peace.

But will they really use this permission? To what extent? And to whom?

Nobody knows, not even themselves.

Thirty-five thousand people from more than twenty countries, speaking more than a dozen languages, are trying to stop a war they don't understand in a place where most of them can't even read a map.

This is the Balkans in November 1991.

Chapter 122 "The United Nations Thanks You for Your Service and Sacrifice"

"My final contribution to the world is to unite other powerful nations to create a global organization. This organization will replace all the previous injustices, allowing all peace-loving countries in the world to at least sit down and talk before turning against each other."

—Franklin Roosevelt

Eastern Croatia, December 1991.

To everyone's surprise, the Soviet peacekeeping forces were attacked on their very first day in Yugoslavia.

No, even the United States didn't dare to fight the Soviet army head-on. Which foolish thing would make the Big Brother lose face as soon as it entered the fray? What's more, the American troops are also coming. Aren't those local armed groups afraid that the two poles of the Cold War will deal with them together?

The last country to have this good fortune was Iraq, and the bodies weren't even cold yet!

The Soviet peacekeeping forces were attacked in Eastern Slavonia, in eastern Croatia, which was the first place in the entire war zone to catch fire.

The Serbian-controlled "Republic of Krajna" continues its westward advance with support from Belgrade. Croatia's regular defense forces number only a few thousand and are poorly equipped—its hastily expanded forces are still scavenging weapons from the remnants left by the People's Army.

Yes, the New People's Army after the first Yugoslav arbitration did have heavy equipment and manpower, and it could still pass through Croatia. However, the New People's Army's combat effectiveness had declined after experiencing division and reorganization. Many remaining Serbian soldiers in the army were unwilling to fire on the Serbian intervention forces, which put Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina at a disadvantage from the start of the war.

Therefore, Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina had to mobilize large numbers of militia to reinforce their defenses. Furthermore, because the United Nations continued to impose arms embargoes on those involved in the Yugoslav Wars, the Yugoslav survivors were forced to find ways to buy guns and ammunition from arms dealers at high prices, causing international gun prices to rise by 30% within a month!

Serbia has a relatively developed industry, abundant equipment, a large number of personnel, and a high level of training. This meant that when the UN Security Council announced the deployment of peacekeeping forces to Yugoslavia, the war situation was already quite unfavorable for Croatia and Montenegro.

At this time, the more than 16,000 peacekeeping troops assembled by the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact faced more than 35,000 Serbian armed forces and more than 20,000 Serbian regular troops in the east.

The commander of the Soviet peacekeeping force understood on their first day in Croatia that they had to carry out their mission there first.

Bosnia and Herzegovina can wait, but Croatia cannot. If the front line in eastern Croatia is not stabilized first, the entire flank of the peacekeeping deployment will be completely exposed!

White T-80U tanks and BTR armored personnel carriers stretched out along the roads of eastern Croatia. The blue UN lettering on the turrets stood out against the gray winter sky—meaning they were particularly easy to target.

The Serb forces initially exercised restraint. Their commanders were aware of the international consequences of directly attacking UN forces, and in the first few days, the firefights were mostly "borderline deterrents," with shells landing next to the peacekeeping positions rather than directly on the soldiers' heads, and snipers hitting the ground next to the vehicles rather than the vehicles themselves.

But the restraint ended when the peacekeeping forces began to actually carry out their missions—intervening in massacres, suppressing militants, and protecting civilians of various ethnicities who were being driven away.

Meanwhile, troops from the European Community and the United States are moving in from the south.

In the Adriatic Sea, French and British warships departed from Italian ports, crossing the sea towards the coastlines of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Numerous amphibious landing craft carried infantry and armored vehicles to ports on the Dalmatian coast, with one US infantry brigade choosing to land at Split.

The troops arriving by sea and the Soviet troops arriving from Hungary merged and gradually advanced towards the core area of ​​the conflict.

However, as December drew to a close, the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina became worse than in Croatia.

Bosnia and Herzegovina is facing attacks from three sides simultaneously – Montenegro from the south, Serbia from the east, and the Republika Srpska army from within Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Under attack from three sides, the Bosnian government forces have lost more than half of their territory in a month, while the Serb armed forces have taken control of large areas in eastern and northern Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, was now surrounded by more than 20,000 Serb armed men.

The siege wasn't completely sealed off; the Serbs didn't have enough troops to completely encircle a city of over 400,000 people. But they didn't need to completely encircle it; what they needed was to control it and force it to surrender.

In Sarajevo, which is under the control of the Bosnian government, the city is predominantly inhabited by Bosniaks, but also includes Serbs, Croats, and other ethnic groups. Even though the Serbs in the city are ostracized by other ethnic groups due to the war, the shells fired by Serb militias outside the city still fall on everyone's heads equally.

Sarajevo is situated in a narrow river valley, surrounded by mountains on all sides.

The Serb army occupied the surrounding ridges and high points, setting up artillery, mortars and tanks on the hills to overlook the entire city.

Nowhere in Sarajevo was safe; the entire city was within artillery range. Due to insufficient manpower, the city's terrain which would significantly negate the Serb forces' numerical advantage, and the Serbs' poor discipline and training, Commander Mladic dared not send his soldiers to attack Sarajevo for brutal street fighting.

Bloody street fighting is a huge test for both sides' armies.

The Serb forces then launched a sustained artillery and sniper barrage against the city. Statistics show that during the siege, an average of several hundred shells fell into the city every day, with a record of over three thousand shells in a single day.

The city's water, electricity, heating, and food supplies were all cut off, forcing residents to run to public water sources to fetch water while under fire from snipers.

With the power supply cut off and the power plant destroyed by shelling, the citizens of Sarajevo had to rely on cutting down trees in parks and streets for warmth, even though it was still winter in December.