Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited Serbia on Saturday to discuss energy, security and Ukraine’s EU path with President Aleksandar Vucic, as Kyiv seeks to shore up international support amid intensifying Russian strikes.
Speaking after the meeting in Belgrade, Zelenskyy said Ukraine had “virtually no intact thermal power plants” left as winter approaches because of near-daily Russian attacks on its energy infrastructure.
He said the strikes were designed to make life “unbearable” for Ukrainians and that the two leaders had discussed the challenges Ukraine would face in the coming winter.
Zelenskyy also thanked Vucic for what he described as a constructive dialogue and for a new humanitarian aid programme for Ukraine, particularly in the fields of medicine and energy.
The visit, Zelenskyy’s first official trip to Serbia, came as he continues a series of foreign trips to reinforce backing for Ukraine.
It also followed heavy Russian bombardments on Kyiv and the surrounding region overnight from Friday to Saturday, which killed at least three people and injured seven others.
In a post on X on Saturday morning, Zelenskyy said three people had been killed in a drone attack in Pukhivka, in the Kyiv region: a grandfather, a grandmother and their grandson.
He said the boy was only three years old.
Zelenskyy arrived in Belgrade on Friday evening and had dinner with Vucic ahead of Saturday’s talks.
Serbia, traditionally an ally of Moscow, has sought to balance its ties with Russia with its relations with the European Union.
Before the talks, Vucic said on social media he believed the visit would help develop relations between Serbia and Ukraine and strengthen co-operation in areas of common interest.
