BELGRADE/SOFIA: President Volodymyr Zelensky made his first official visit to Serbia — a rare European country still closely aligned with Moscow — on Saturday as Ukraine seeks to bolster international support in the face of intensifying Russian strikes.

Zelensky received a ceremonial welcome as talks with his counterpart Aleksandar Vucic got under way at the presidential palace, after another intense bombardment of Kyiv and the surrounding region overnight killed at least four people.

Diplomacy is at a standstill more than four years after the start of Russia’s large-scale offensive against Ukraine and the two countries are ramping up long-range strikes, causing a growing number of civilian casualties.

Moscow has significantly upped its attacks on the Ukrainian capital in recent months, typically firing salvos of hard-to-intercept ballistic missiles in short blitzes, with Ukraine pleading for more US-made Patriot interceptors.

Bulgaria summons Ukrainian ambassador over crashed drone

Kyiv, in turn, has been firing record numbers of drones at Russia in retaliation. A senior Ukrainian official earlier described Zelensky’s visit to Moscow’s traditional ally Serbia as “a slap in the face for the Russians”.

Serbia is historically close to Russia and Vucic has refused to sanction Moscow, a move that has irked the EU and slowed Belgrade’s path to joining the bloc.

Zelensky had dinner on Friday with Vucic, who repeated this week that he will not change his mind on sanctions, ahead of the talks.

“We will discuss expanding economic ties between our countries, relations with the European Union, other areas that can benefit our nations, and security issues,” Zelensky said on X.

After arriving at the palace on Saturday morning, the leaders posed for photos before talks began behind closed doors. They are later due to address the media.

Zelensky — who has toured much of the world seeking support since Russia’s 2022 invasion — has not visited Serbia since he became president in 2019.

Although heavily dependent on cheap Russian gas and one of the rare European leaders to still visit Moscow, Vucic has also supplied non-military aid to Kyiv. The Kremlin has accused Serbian firms of selling munitions to Ukraine, a claim Vucic has repeatedly denied.

Vucic went to Ukraine for a regional summit in 2025 and visited Kyiv this year. He has promised assistance to Ukraine but avoided signing a formal declaration of support in the war.

Bulgaria drone crash

Bulgaria’s foreign minister on Saturday summoned the Ukrainian ambassador following the crash of an explosives-laden drone in her country close to a strategic pipeline, her office said.

Their meeting will take place on Monday, aides said.

Published in Dawn, August 9th, 2026