On August 8, fans of the Serbian football club Crvena Zvezda displayed a banner opposing Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky’s visit to Serbia.
At the match against Novi Pazar, supporters unfurled a poster reading: “While you entertain the Nazis in Belgrade, the Serbs bleed to death in crucified Kosovo.” Footage captured Russian flags in the stands and fans chanting, “Serbs and Russians are brothers forever.”
The incident occurred on the same day Zelensky met with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic in Belgrade. This marked Zelensky’s first official visit to Serbia, which took place the previous day. Former Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Vulin of the Movement of Socialists party stated that the president’s visit did not meet the wishes of country’s citizens. The opposition parliamentary movement “We are the Power of the People” warned it would deal a serious blow to Serbian-Russian relations. Political analyst Nikolai Mezhevich noted that Zelensky traveled to Serbia primarily for public relations purposes.
