Zelensky to make first-ever visit to Serbia on Aug. 8, source says
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President Volodymyr Zelensky is set to make his first trip to Serbia on Aug. 8, a senior Ukrainian official told the Kyiv Independent.
The trip is seen as symbolic, as Serbia has traditionally maintained close ties with Russia.
Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Serbia has sought to strike a careful diplomatic balance between Moscow and the West.
Russia has historically been one of Serbia's key diplomatic allies, and Serbia relied heavily on Russia for natural gas.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic attended Moscow's Victory Day Parade in 2025 but was notably absent this year.
According to reports, Serbia has indirectly supplied arms to Ukraine, although Vucic publicly denied it in May 2025.
At the time, Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service, the SVR, accused Serbia's defense industry of "trying to shoot Russia in the back."
Vucic made his first official trip to Ukraine in June 2025 as part of the Ukraine-Southeast Europe summit in Odesa.
Unlike the other participants at the summit, Vucic did not sign a joint declaration that denounced Russia's illegal aggression, called for a full withdrawal of Russian forces from Ukraine, and reaffirmed support for Ukraine's territorial integrity.
At the summit, Vucic claimed he wanted to go beyond political declarations and provide practical assistance to Kyiv.
Vucic was also among a recent delegation of European leaders who visited Kyiv on July 15, Ukraine's Statehood Day.
