President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy may visit Serbia as early as this week at the head of a Ukrainian delegation, Serbian television company N1 reported, citing diplomatic sources in Belgrade. But there has so far been no official confirmation of the visit from Kyiv.
In addition, according to the Telegram channel “Serbian Economist,” the Ukrainian delegation is expected to arrive in Serbia in the coming days, and it is not ruled out that it will be personally headed by Zelenskyy. If the trip takes place, it will be the first visit of the Ukrainian president to Serbia since he took office in 2019. N1 separately indicates that, because of the wartime situation, such a trip may be canceled at any moment. The Serbian television channel also reported that diplomatic sources expect the possible signing of a memorandum on trade cooperation between the two countries.
This directly coincides in time with the already announced Ukrainian business mission to Belgrade on May 19–21, 2026, which is to take place as part of the visit to Serbia by Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Taras Kachka.
According to a statement by the Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the purpose of the business mission is the participation of the Ukrainian delegation in the Ukrainian-Serbian business forum, the holding of B2B meetings with Serbian companies, visits to enterprises, the establishment of new business contacts, and discussion of potential joint projects. Companies from the agro-industrial complex, fertilizer production, construction, the electrical engineering sector, agricultural machinery manufacturing, energy, and other industries were invited to participate.
On the Ukrainian official side, at the time of preparation of the material, there was no public confirmation of Zelenskyy’s possible visit to Belgrade. At the same time, the fact of the preparation of an economic mission with the participation of Ukrainian business and the visit of Taras Kachka had been publicly announced in advance through the Ukrainian CCI and Interfax-Ukraine.
Zelenskyy’s possible arrival would be a notable diplomatic event for the region. Since the beginning of the war, Serbia has maintained a complicated balance: Belgrade recognizes the territorial integrity of Ukraine, including Crimea, but has not joined Western sanctions against Russia. Contacts between Zelenskyy and Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić after 2022 have mainly taken place at international venues. In June 2025, Vučić visited Ukraine for the first time since the beginning of the full-scale war, taking part in the “Ukraine — South-Eastern Europe” summit in Odesa. At that time, he met with Zelenskyy but refused to sign the summit’s final declaration.
For economic relations, the possible visit of the Ukrainian delegation has independent significance even without confirmation of Zelenskyy’s participation. Ukraine and Serbia in recent years have been trying to intensify trade contacts, and the new business forum in Belgrade may become a platform for practical agreements between companies, including in the agricultural sector, energy, construction, and machine building.
Ukraine today is, in many ways, following the path that Israel has taken over the 78 years of its existence, said the Israeli ambassador to Ukraine during a ceremony marking Israel’s Independence Day.
“There are few countries in the world that understand each other better than Israel and Ukraine. In recent years, air raid sirens have often sounded simultaneously in Israel and Ukraine,” the ambassador said, addressing representatives of the Ukrainian government, the diplomatic corps, and Israel’s partners in Ukraine.
According to him, Ukraine’s successes in developing defense technologies “cannot fail to impress.”
The diplomat noted that the past year has been difficult for both countries, particularly for bilateral relations.
“The relationship between our countries is very close and often resembles a family bond. As in any family, difficulties sometimes arise, and we occasionally need the help of a ‘family therapist,’” he said.
The ambassador emphasized that in diplomacy, as in medicine, the principle of “do no harm” is crucial. According to him, during his nearly five years of service in Ukraine, he has strived to adhere to this principle.
In his speech, the diplomat also mentioned Golda Meir, who was born in Kyiv, and quoted one of her famous phrases: “Pessimism is a luxury that Jews can never afford.”
“Today, this applies equally to both Israelis and Ukrainians. I admire the resilience of our peoples, their ability to remain optimistic despite everything,” the ambassador noted.
He expressed confidence that, despite wars and terror, Israel and Ukraine will remain free and independent.
The diplomat also announced that his term in Ukraine is coming to an end in the near future.
“To say that this term has been special is an understatement. And yet, I regret only one thing: that peace has not come before the end of my work in Ukraine. I appeal to those on whom this depends: you still have three months. Now is the time to intensify these efforts,” he said.
The ambassador thanked the staff of the Israeli Embassy in Ukraine for their work in preserving and developing Israeli-Ukrainian relations, as well as partners and organizations that support cooperation between the two countries, including Nativ, Keren Kayemet LeIsrael, Keren HaYesod, Keren HaYedidut, the Joint, and Sohnut.
He also expressed his gratitude to the participants in the organization of the gala evening, including Honorary Consuls Oleg Vishnyakov and Andriy Rykota, Honorary Consul of Ukraine in Israel Ofer Kerzner, President of the Benish Group Haim Benesh, President of the Ukrainian Mineral Waters Corporation Hanna Kotlyarevska, and MTB Bank.
Israel celebrates Independence Day as the country’s main national holiday. In 2026, Israel will mark the 78th anniversary of the declaration of independence.
Diplomatic relations between Ukraine and the State of Israel were established on December 26, 1991, shortly after Ukraine’s declaration of independence. The Embassy of Ukraine in Tel Aviv began operations in October 1992, and the Embassy of Israel in Kyiv was opened in 1993. Since then, the countries have been developing political dialogue, humanitarian, cultural, and economic cooperation, as well as maintaining active ties between Ukrainian and Israeli societies.
Serbian Foreign Minister Marko Đurić has stated that Belgrade hopes to confirm Ukraine’s participation in the specialised Expo 2027 exhibition, which is due to take place in the Serbian capital from 15 May to 15 August 2027, according to the Telegram channel ‘Serbian Economist’.
Đurić posted this on X following a meeting with Ukraine’s Ambassador to Serbia, Oleksandr Litvinenko. According to the Serbian Foreign Minister, the parties discussed further intensifying political dialogue, supporting bilateral political consultations and improving trade cooperation between the two countries.
He also thanked Ukraine for its principled stance on the issue of respecting the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the Republic of Serbia.
“As Serbia and Ukraine traditionally enjoy very good relations, we hope to confirm Ukraine’s participation in the upcoming EXPO 2027 specialised exhibition,” the Serbian Foreign Minister emphasised.
For Belgrade, Ukraine’s potential participation in Expo 2027 has not only diplomatic but also economic significance. Serbia is seeking to use the exhibition as a tool for expanding trade, investment and logistics ties, as well as a platform for promoting the country as a regional hub for the Western Balkans.
For Ukraine, participation in Expo 2027 could provide an opportunity to present in Serbia not only a national pavilion but also a business programme focused on reconstruction, the agro-industrial sector, energy, IT, construction materials, logistics and industrial cooperation.
Expo 2027 Belgrade will be held under the theme “Play for Humanity: Sport and Music for All”. It will be the first specialised Expo hosted by Serbia and the region of the former Yugoslavia. According to the Bureau International des Expositions, the Belgrade site is set to welcome over 130 countries, more than 6 million visitors and over 8,000 events during the 93-day programme.
According to the official Expo 2027 website, 137 countries have formally confirmed their participation to date. These include Japan, South Korea, China, Turkey, Hungary, Austria, Switzerland, Slovakia, Azerbaijan, Ecuador, Monaco, as well as a number of countries from Africa, Asia, Oceania and Latin America. In March 2026, Belgrade also hosted the second international meeting of Expo 2027 participants, which, according to the Serbian government, was attended by representatives from 138 countries.
A distinctive feature of the Belgrade Expo is that it is intended to be not a general world exhibition, but a specialised Expo – that is, a more focused international event with a limited theme and duration. For Serbia, this is the largest image-building and infrastructure project of the decade: it involves the construction of a new exhibition complex in Surčin, the development of transport infrastructure, the hotel sector, the city’s economy and Belgrade’s international positioning.
Slovakia has reopened border crossings with Ukraine that had previously been closed due to a massive airstrike on border regions, DennikN reports.
“Border crossings with Ukraine are open again in both directions; according to police, the situation remains calm for now,” the report states.
Border processing resumed at 5:47 p.m. Kyiv time. According to police, the crossings had been temporarily closed on the Ukrainian side.
As previously reported, the Slovak side closed all border checkpoints on the border with Ukraine on Wednesday, according to Slovakia’s Financial Administration.
On Wednesday, the Slovak authorities closed all border checkpoints on the border with Ukraine, according to the Slovak Financial Administration.
“For security reasons, all checkpoints on the border with Ukraine are closed starting today at 3:00 p.m. (4:00 p.m. Kyiv time) until further notice,” the statement said.
Artem Bidenko, president of the Ukrainian Publishers Association (UPA), states that pirated publications account for nearly a third of the book market, and most of them are sold through marketplaces and websites.
“When a Ukrainian book is pirated on the day of its release, legal publishers are physically unable to purchase the rights for an official translation—the rights holder sees that the market is flooded with counterfeits and refuses. This is how legal translation is systematically being killed off. This is how authors don’t receive royalties. This is how translators don’t receive fees. This is how the state loses tax revenue. And this is how readers end up with machine translations ‘on toilet paper’ instead of literature. According to our estimates, nearly a third of the market consists of illegal content,” Bidenko wrote on Facebook.
According to him, most illegal publications are sold through marketplaces and websites that are easily found via search engines.
“And it is Google that is currently the main sponsor of piracy in Ukraine, paradoxical as it may seem. Because the scheme is perfectly designed to bypass local blocks. The SBU blocks a domain—pirates register a new one within a day. The State Committee for Television and Radio Broadcasting blocks that one—the next one appears. At the level of Ukrainian internet providers, it’s an endless game of cat and mouse. But all these stores thrive on Google—through indexing, through Google Shopping, through ads, through reviews on Google Maps,” Bidenko noted.
In his view, if Google begins to heed official requests from the State Committee for Television and Radio Broadcasting and the SBU and de-index domains with confirmed piracy, it will become technically unprofitable for networks to launch yet another site, because without search engine results, no one will find them.
“This is a working mechanism. It is already used for the DMCA in the U.S., for child safety, and for sanctions lists. Today, the industry, together with the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Education and Science, has appealed to Google Ukraine with a request to implement a mechanism for blocking illegal content,” said the president of the UIA.
