While they are more than 1,600 kilometers apart and vastly different in size, Kosovo and Ukraine share a common struggle over sovereignty -- one still reeling from war 26 years ago, the other fighting to preserve its territorial integrity against Russia.

As discussions continue about what a peacekeeping force might look like in Ukraine, Kosovos quarter-century of experience with international peacekeepers could provide valuable insights -- should a cease-fire be reached in the full-scale war Russia launched in 2022.

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Ivan Vejvoda, a senior fellow at the Institute for Human Sciences in Vienna, said that any peacekeeping mission in Ukraine must involve all parties.

All stakeholders should be on board, of course, the aggressor, Russia, the country that was invaded, Ukraine, the European Union, the United States, NATO," Vejvoda told RFE/RL. "So, there are a lot of pieces to the puzzle for a successful peacekeeping mission.

What can be learned is the need to strengthen the foundations of peace and show political willingness. But, of course, on fair terms -- especially for Ukraine, a sovereign European country that was invaded for no reason by its nuclear-armed neighbor, Russia, Vejvoda said.

Keeping The Peace In Kosovo

NATOs peacekeeping mission in Kosovo, known as KFOR, was deployed in June 1999 under NATO's command, following the alliance's bombing of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

NATO launched the military campaign to end the humanitarian crisis and ethnic cleansing of Kosovo's ethnic Albanian population by Yugoslav forces led by authoritarian leader Slobodan Milosevic.

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In the wake of the bombing campaign and years of fighting between the Kosovo Liberation Army (UCK) and Serbian security forces, the peacekeeping missions objectives were to maintain security, ensure freedom of movement, and support the establishment of a stable, democratic, and multiethnic Kosovo.

KFOR operates under United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244, which authorized an international military presence in Kosovo after Serbian forces withdrew in 1999.