Several Kosovo politicians and businesspeople have announced they will donate to the new Security Fund that was established by the government on Tuesday.

“In accordance with the needs of the Kosovo Security Forces, and the current situation, and after consulting international partners, I authorised the Ministry of Finance to establish the ‘Security Fund’,” Prime Minister Albin Kurti announced on Facebook.

He invited Kosovo citizens and people from the diaspora to “contribute to state security”.

Such a decision comes after the Russian aggression in Ukraine and the security threats it  has risen in Kosovo.

Several politicians immediately said they will donate to the new fund.

Former Kosovo Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj, leader of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo, AAK party, wrote on Facebook that he supports the government decision in light of the threat posed by the “Russian aggression in Ukraine and the clear positioning of Serbia beside Putin”.

MP Albana Bytyqi of the AAK said she will donate her February salary payment to the Security Fund.

The mayor of Suhareka/Suva Reka, Bali Muharremi, also said he would donate his February salary as a “soldier by profession and former KLA [Kosovo Liberation Army] member”.

Fjolla Ujkani, an MP from the ruling party Vetevendosje, said that she would donate “family savings of 5,000 euros for the safety of our children”.

Businessmen also pledged to donate to the Security Fund.

Ardian Hoxha, the owner of one of the most popular nightclubs in the capital Pristina, claimed he would donate 10,000 euros a month to the fund.

Another owner of a well-known nightclub on the Pristina- Ferizaj/Urosevac highway, Tom Duhani, claimed on Instagram that he and his brothers will donate 100,000 euros to the fund.

Kosovo’s Ministry of Finance announced on Wednesday morning that the bank account for the fund is open. The decision of the Government defines narrowly what the financial means can be used for.

“The Kosovo Treasury has opened an official bank account to accept the funds dedicated for security… functional from today, March 2, 2022,” the ministry announced.

The establishment of the Security Fund came after Defence, Minister Armend Mehaj on Sunday asked NATO to offer Kosovo “accelerated membership” while repeating his call for the US to establish a permanent military base in Kosovo’s territory after Russia invaded Ukraine.

NATO, however, has no plans to alter its peacekeeping engagement in Kosovo, BIRN learned on Tuesday.

“NATO’s engagement in Kosovo has not changed,” a NATO official told BIRN via email.

NATO also does not support Kosovo’s move to upgrade its Security Force into a regular army, mainly due to opposition from Serbia, which still claims Kosovo as its own territory, and four NATO member states that do not recognise Kosovo’s independence.

Nevertheless, this has not prevented Kosovo from doing deals with individual NATO member states to reach practically the same goal.

The KSF’s original mandate was to conduct crisis response operations in Kosovo and abroad, civil protection operations within Kosovo, and assist in dealing with natural disasters.

A law adopted by Kosovo’s parliament in 2018 provides for an active force of up to 5,000 members, a significant increase from the 3,000 allowed under its previous mandate, plus a reserve component of not more than 3,000 members.

In military terms, NATO continues to maintain its own peacekeeping force in Kosovo, KFOR, a mission that started in June 1999 after 78 days of airstrikes forced Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic to withdraw Serbian police and troops from Kosovo.

NATO’s peacekeeping operation has, however, been reduced in size, from 50,000 troops on the ground 22 years ago to around 3,800 peacekeepers today.

Kosovo has been working to raise the KSF’s capacities to the military level. In August 2021, Defence Minister Mehaj announced that the US had donated a total of 50 armoured vehicles to the KSF.