In what is being described as one of the biggest military operations in Europe since World War II, heavily armed British paratroopers and elite gurkha units in helicopters were the first to cross the border from Macedonia shortly after daybreak.

The paratroopers were deployed to guard the route as a long convoy of tanks, jeeps and other military vehicles began heading towards Pristina.

Three hours into the operation, officials from the British convoy making up the advance unit of the peacekeeping force said that so far the entry into Kosovo territory had gone without incident.

A British officer explained that the advance was being coordinated simultaneously with the pullout of Serb forces, with whom the NATO troops were in regular contact.

Parallel to the British troop movement, French forces began entering Kosovo from Dumanovce. Germantroops were expected to receive their marching orders later in the day. The German soldiers are chiefly reconnaissance troops riding in armoured vehicles.

The deployment of NATO ground forces was being guarded by US Apache attack helicopters, while Chinook transport helicopters were ferrying military equipment. Analysts expected the military convoys to move slowly because of the danger of mines and booby traps left by retreating Yugoslav soldiers.

Yeltsin-Sergeyev meet

MOSCOW, June 12: President Boris Yeltsin had a meeting with his Defence Minister Igor Sergeyev on Saturday, said the Interfax news agency, quoting Russian military sources. The military sources said that Yeltsin and Sergeyev discussed developments in Yugoslavia after Russian troops entered Kosovo early Saturday. The Kremlin, however, denied the reports. Interfax had also quoted military sources saying that no order had been given to the Russian paratroopers to withdraw. This was in contradiction to Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov'sstatement describing the Russian action as a ``mistake''.