Division General Angelo Michele Ristuccia, in the presence of the Chief of Defense Staff Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, passed the baton to his Turkish counterpart Major General Ozkan Ulutas.
The changeover ceremony was presided over by the commander of Allied Joint Force Command Naples (JFC-N), Admiral Stuart Munsch.
During his speech, General Ristuccia, 13th Italian commander leading the mission, which began in 1999, after expressing his thanks to all his collaborators and staff who supported him in carrying out his tasks, declared "I just have to express my gratitude to those who had the trust to assign me the task of leading KFOR and supported me in this challenging undertaking which has seen us preserve the conditions to guarantee peace and stability to all citizens living in Kosovo .
It has been and continues to be a complex mission, characterized by countless challenges, which we have tried to transform into opportunities to guarantee peace and stability, but above all to preserve a better future for generations to come".
KFOR is NATO's largest mission in terms of number of soldiers, with over 4.700 men and women employed, of which Italy is the largest contributing country. Present in this operational theater since the birth of the mission, Italian soldiers contribute on a daily basis to ensuring a safe and protected environment and freedom of movement for all communities living in Kosovo, in accordance with the mandate received from the United Nations with the resolution of UN no. 1244 of 1999.
