In immediate aftermath, Tuđman remarked that the attack was apparently meant to destroy the Banski Dvori as the seat of the statehood of Croatia.

Marković blamed Yugoslav Defence Secretary General Veljko Kadijević, who denied the accusation and suggested the event was staged by Croatia.

In 1990, the first multi-party elections were held in Croatia, with Franjo Tuđman's win raising nationalist tensions further in an already tense SFR Yugoslavia.

[1] The Serb politicians left the Sabor and declared the autonomy of areas that would soon become part of the unrecognized Republic of Serbian Krajina, which had the intention on achieving independence from Croatia.

[4][5] The suspension came about as the European Economic Community and the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe urged Croatia that it would not be recognized as an independent state because of the possibility of a civil war in Yugoslavia.

[9] It also coincided with the end of Operation Coast-91, in which the Yugoslav forces failed to occupy the coastline in an attempt to cut off Dalmatia's access to the rest of Croatia.

[13] At midnight during the night of the 6–7 October, the Soviet ambassador to Belgrade was reported to have received government instructions to warn the Yugoslav military against attacking Zagreb.

In the morning, Yugoslav General Andrija Rašeta informed the press that his superiors may decide to attack Zagreb as a form of pressure on Tuđman.

During the morning, Yugoslav Air Force jets were observed taking off from bases near Pula and Udbina in Croatia and Banja Luka in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

[17] The purpose of the meeting was to persuade Marković to leave his position as the head of the Yugoslav federal government, which he appeared reluctant to do,[18] and to discuss the need for Croatia's independence.

[18][21] The Banski Dvori building was struck by the Mark 82 bombs set off by proximity fuzes 5 metres (16 feet) above the target,[12] scoring two direct hits.

[24] In a television report taped and broadcast shortly after the bombing, Tuđman said that the attack appears to have been meant to destroy the Banski Dvori as the seat of the statehood of Croatia, and as a decapitation strike.