Serbian TV went from its standard programming to snow following strikes on its main building RELATED VIDEO: CNN's Jane Arraf reports on one family's ordeal (April 22) Windows Media 28K 80K CNN's Nic Robertson reports on the opposition in Montenegro (April 22) Windows Media 28K 80K CNN's Satinder Bindra reports on Albanian and Kosovar reaction to the Apache arrival (April 22) Real 28K 80K Windows Media 28K 80K CNN's Rebecca MacKinnon reports on the growing anger many Chinese feel toward NATO and the U.S. because of the Yugoslav airstrikes Real 28K 80K Windows Media 28K 80K A Macedonian town full of refugees has been cut off from aid workers, who fear a food shortage. CNN's Richard Blystone shows his attempt to get as close as possible. (April 21) Real 28K 80K Windows Media 28K 80K To view the latest video streams on the strikes in Yugoslavia, use the arrow buttons below to scroll through the video gallery.        Windows Media Real        28 K 80 K IMAGE GALLERY: The Kosovo refugees The Serbs and Kosovo  ALSO: Kosovo refugees tell of 100-mile trek to Albanian border Aid groups move refugees away from borders U.S.: Serb forces weaker but 'still responding' Yugoslavia war dims NATO's 50th anniversary plans  MESSAGE BOARD: Crisis in Kosovo  MAPS: NATO officials describe the air campaign  IN-DEPTH SPECIAL: NATO at 50

In this story: Russia: Milosevic to allow U.N. force NATO destroys Milosevic home NATO: Yugoslav supplies halved NATO leaders to review plans at summit RELATED STORIES, SITES

April 22, 1999
Web posted at: 10:27 p.m. EDT (0227 GMT)

BELGRADE, Yugoslavia (CNN) -- Hours after a Russian special envoy announced that Yugoslavia had agreed to allow an unarmed, U.N.-led "international presence" in Kosovo, explosions thundered through Belgrade early Friday and state-run Serbian television went off the air.

CNN Correspondent Brent Sadler, reporting from the Yugoslav capital, described the airstrikes as one of the most intense attacks since Operation Allied Force began and called it "a scene of complete destruction."

Sadler said there were casualties in the attack.

Beograd.com, a Web site based in Boston that is run by Yugoslov expatriates, was posting photos of what it says are pictures from independent TV station Studio B showing the aftermath of the strike on Serbian TV.

Yugoslav officials told CNN there were people inside the building when it was hit. Residents in the area said bodies were being taken out of the building.

Officials also said a main police station was attacked and "badly damaged" as a result of ongoing NATO attacks.

NATO had warned that Serbian television would be targeted, accusing it of spreading misinformation and government propaganda.

Russia: Milosevic to allow U.N. force

Earlier Thursday, former Russian Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin said Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic had accepted the idea of allowing an international force in Kosovo under a U.N. mandate.

However, official Yugoslav sources told CNN the plan calls for an "unarmed presence" that would exclude NATO countries with the possible exception of Greece.

NATO previously has insisted that any peacekeeping force in Kosovo be armed and under NATO command. Milosevic has so far rejected NATO's demands to pull his forces out of Kosovo and grant autonomy to ethnic Albanians in the province.

Following a meeting with Milosevic in Belgrade, Chernomyrdin said Yugoslavia was willing to accept an international body, but "what kind of international forces they will be or from which countries -- this is yet to be discussed."

Chernomyrdin said under the agreement, Russia would participate in the Kosovo force.

U.S. President Bill Clinton reacted cautiously upon hearing the report, saying he didn't know much about the proposal, but "if there is an offer for a genuine security force, that's the first time that Mr. Milosevic has done that, and that represents, I suppose, some step forward."

Later, a U.S. official dismissed the proposal, calling it "a classic Milosevic propaganda ploy designed to divide the allies on the eve of the NATO summit."

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said he was encouraged by news that Yugoslavia would accept an international presence in Kosovo and "eagerly awaits the details," according to a statement through his spokesman.

A statement from Milosevic's office made no mention of an international force and gave no indication the Yugoslav president had softened his hardline stance.

It said Milosevic and Chernomyrdin "condemned the aggression of (the) NATO pact ... and stressed that it must be stopped without further delay."

"Yugoslavia and Russia are firmly determined to jointly work for a peaceful resolution of the problems in Kosovo, and that can be achieved only through political means," the statement said.

NATO forces bombed one of Milosevic's official residences Thursday

NATO destroys Milosevic home

Overnight Thursday, NATO jets bombed one of Milosevic's Belgrade homes in an example of "increased allied pressure on the very center, the central nerve system of the regime that controls military and security forces," Pentagon spokesman Ken Bacon said.

Bacon said the alliance was not targeting Milosevic or his family, but, "we believe there were bunkers in this facility and in many other facilities."

The residence, one of two homes Milosevic keeps in the Yugoslav capital, is located in Belgrade's luxurious Dedinje district. The attack came at 4 a.m. (0200 GMT), the Yugoslav news agency Tanjug reported.

Serbian TV showed footage of what it said was the home. It showed significant damage to the residence in a tree-lined neighborhood near the grave of former Yugoslav communist leader Marshal Tito.

U.S. and British officials said Thursday that Milosevic's home contained a bunker and communications facilities that made it a legitimate military target.

"The house has been used as a command-and-control facility, and therefore it became a part of the military machine," Armed Forces Minister Doug Henderson said.

Asked if NATO considered the Yugoslav leader a target, Henderson said, "The Milosevic military machine is the target, and there is no other target."

But Nebojsa Vujovic, a Yugoslav foreign ministry spokesman, said bombing the Yugoslav leader's home served no military purpose.

"There were no single elements of so-called or alleged command-and-control centers, no single piece of wire, no single button," Vujovic said.

NATO: Yugoslav supplies halved

NATO air raids have knocked out all of Yugoslavia's oil refining capacity, while damaged road and rail links have cut supplies to the Yugoslav army in Kosovo by half, senior officers said Thursday.

U.S. Navy Rear Adm. Thomas Wilson, director of intelligence for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the attacks are hurting Yugoslav forces in other ways as well: There are higher desertion rates and fewer reservists showing up for duty.

Wilson said there have been "several hundred" desertions from the Yugoslav forces based in Pristina, Kosovo's capital, alone.

A reported Yugoslav campaign against ethnic Albanians in Kosovo has left dozens of towns and villages razed, he said. Numerous towns -- particularly in central and southwest Kosovo -- have seen more than three-quarters of their buildings destroyed or damaged, he said.

"This is a wanton and indiscriminate destruction of this country's cities and villages," Wilson said. "There is a lot of evidence of mass killing."

Going into the air campaign March 24, NATO allies estimated the Yugoslav army in Kosovo numbered about 40,000 troops, backed up by roughly 400 tanks and armored vehicles.

Wilson said between two-thirds to three-quarters of those have been in the field, and about 10 to 20 percent of those have been hit by allied bombs.

NATO leaders to review plans at summit

As NATO leaders gather for the alliance's 50th anniversary summit, which begins in Washington on Friday, NATO Secretary- General Javier Solana authorized allied planners to "update the assessment" for the possible use of ground troops in Yugoslavia.

Gen. Wesley Clark, NATO's supreme commander, will review the allies' contingency plans.

Despite that, Henderson said, the allies remain committed to the air campaign.

"The difficulty of a land force invasion of Kosovo against an undegraded Serb military machine are formidable, but all options are always kept under review," he said.

Early estimates suggest that more than 200,000 NATO troops would be required for a ground war in Yugoslavia. Military officials told CNN that number likely would be higher after Clark's reassessment.

Sources in Washington said his review is routine, and in no way suggests a move toward seeking approval from the 19-member military alliance for a ground combat operation.

The White House said Thursday it remained opposed to putting U.S. or NATO ground troops in Kosovo, except as a peacekeeping force.

Correspondents Jonathan Karl, John King and Brent Sadler contributed to this report.