Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's visit to Serbia, the first by a Ukrainian head of state since 2018, has highlighted a potentially new phase in relations between Kyiv and Belgrade, while also exposing the difficult balancing act of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic.
For Kyiv, closer ties with Serbia could provide diplomatic and practical benefits, particularly because Serbia is one of the few European countries that has not joined Western sanctions against Russia. Belgrade, meanwhile, remains heavily dependent on Moscow for energy and has maintained close ties with the Kremlin. Yet Vucic has also sought to demonstrate that Serbia is moving closer to European positions on Ukraine.
"We did not discuss any form of military cooperation. What happens once the war is over is another matter," Vucic said at a joint press conference with Zelensky.
Serbian political scientist Aleksandar Djokic described the visit as another setback for Russia because Serbia is widely viewed as being within Moscow's sphere of influence. For Vucic, he said, the meeting offered a way to signal alignment with European policy on Ukraine while potentially securing progress in Serbia's stalled EU accession process.
