Serbia's Vučić sends signal to Brussels and Moscow by hosting Zelenskyy with pomp and circumstance

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's forthcoming visit to Serbia is expected to be a historic moment, as Belgrade has traditionally held close ties to Russia. International reports, citing a senior Ukrainian official, state that Zelenskyy's visit to Serbia is a significant gesture aimed at "pulling the Serbs away from Russia."

This visit comes after Zelenskyy has not traveled to Serbia since assuming office in 2019. Serbia is a nation often seen as Russia's closest ally in Europe, having resisted imposing sanctions on Moscow while maintaining substantial energy partnerships with Russia. Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, who met with then-Russian President Vladimir Putin in May 2025, has historically had cozy relations with Russia.

At the same time, Serbia publicly aspires to join the European Union, an aspiration that is met with criticism from Brussels due to Serbia's continued close ties with Russia. The Serbian presidency has confirmed Zelenskyy's visit, scheduled for August 8. Further details about the visit's itinerary have not yet been disclosed. During his July visit to Kyiv for the Southeastern Europe-Ukraine Summit, Vučić expressed dissatisfaction with the amount of aid Serbia had provided to Ukraine.

Nonetheless, he refused to sign the summit's joint declaration which called for increased political, military, and financial support for Ukraine, as well as enhanced security cooperation and heightened pressure on Russia. Serbia has been previously visited by other high-ranking Ukrainian officials, such as parliament speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk and Taras Kachka, who was deputy prime minister for European and Euro-Atlantic integration at the time.