Zelensky to Make First-Ever Visit to Serbia in Symbolic Push to Pull Belgrade From Moscow’s Orbit
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is set to make his first-ever official visit to Serbia this Saturday, a trip laden with symbolic weight given Belgrade’s historically close relationship with Moscow and its careful balancing act between East and West since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion.
The visit, confirmed by senior Ukrainian officials and by the office of Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, will mark Zelensky’s first trip to the country since taking office in 2019, and the first visit by a sitting Ukrainian head of state to Serbia since Russia launched its invasion in 2022.
A Deliberate Diplomatic Statement
For Kyiv, the timing and symbolism of the trip appear entirely intentional. One senior Ukrainian official, speaking anonymously, described the visit bluntly as a “slap in the face for the Russians,” reflecting a broader Ukrainian strategy of steadily working to peel away countries that have maintained friendly relations with Moscow throughout the war.
Serbia occupies a particularly delicate position in that context. As a Slavic, Orthodox Christian nation with deep historical, religious and political ties to Russia, Serbia has long been considered one of Moscow’s most reliable partners in Europe. Belgrade has relied heavily on Russian natural gas, and President Vučić attended Russia’s Victory Day parade in Moscow as recently as 2025, underscoring the relationship’s persistence even years into the war.
Yet subtle shifts have become increasingly visible. Vučić was notably absent from this year’s Victory Day commemorations in Moscow, and reports have circulated, though publicly denied by Vučić, that Serbia has indirectly supplied arms that ultimately reached Ukraine’s battlefield. Serbia also does not appear on the Kremlin’s list of core allied states in the way it once did, reflecting Belgrade’s own efforts to preserve room for manoeuvre between its EU candidacy ambitions and its historic ties to Russia.
Building on Months of Gradual Warming
Saturday’s visit does not emerge from nowhere. In June 2025, Vučić made his own first official trip to Ukraine, attending the Ukraine-Southeast Europe summit in Odesa. Notably, he stopped short of signing a joint declaration at that summit that condemned Russia’s invasion and called for a full withdrawal of Russian forces, a decision that highlighted the limits of how far Belgrade was willing to go publicly at the time. More recently, Vučić was among a delegation of regional leaders who visited Kyiv on July 15 to mark Ukraine’s Statehood Day, and he has since said he was “not fully” satisfied with the level of assistance Serbia had so far extended to Ukraine, suggesting an openness to doing more.
According to Vučić’s own comments ahead of Saturday’s meeting, the agenda is expected to focus heavily on Ukraine and Serbia’s shared path toward European Union membership, along with cooperation on energy security and economic ties. “I believe we will discuss how and in what ways we can help each other on this issue, and, if possible, learn something from one another,” Vučić said, referring to EU integration. He added that culture and sport would also feature in the discussions.
Sanctions Remain the Sticking Point
Despite the warming atmosphere, Vučić has been careful to manage expectations around the one issue Kyiv would most like to see change: Serbia’s continued refusal to join Western sanctions against Russia. Asked directly whether Zelensky’s visit might signal a shift on sanctions, Vučić reaffirmed that Serbia’s position, set nearly five years ago, remains unchanged and is likely to stay that way for the foreseeable future.
That stance keeps Serbia in an unusual category among European nations navigating the war’s fallout: formally pursuing EU membership, whose accession framework generally expects alignment with the bloc’s foreign policy positions, while simultaneously preserving economic and diplomatic space with Russia that most EU member states abandoned years ago.
Why the Visit Matters for the Region
Beyond the symbolism, Ukrainian officials reportedly see tangible opportunities in deepening ties with Serbia, including discussions around free trade arrangements and the potential development of a logistics hub for Ukrainian companies operating in the Balkans. For Serbia, closer cooperation with Kyiv offers a way to demonstrate progress on its long-stalled EU accession bid at a moment when Brussels has renewed pressure on candidate countries to show concrete alignment with the bloc’s values and foreign policy.
The visit also carries broader implications for how the region’s remaining Russia-friendly governments navigate an increasingly polarised European landscape. As Ukraine continues to press for wider international isolation of Moscow, symbolic gestures like Saturday’s trip to Belgrade serve a dual purpose: reinforcing Kyiv’s narrative of gradually shrinking Russian influence in Europe, while testing how far historically neutral or Moscow-aligned governments are willing to shift their posture as the war grinds into its fifth year.
Neither side has released a detailed itinerary for Saturday’s talks, but both governments have signalled that the meeting will address concrete cooperation rather than serve purely as a diplomatic photo opportunity, setting up what could be a consequential moment in the slow reshaping of alliances across Southeast Europe. Next Article
