According to “Serbian Economist”, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will pay an official visit to Serbia on August 8 and meet with Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić in Belgrade. The Serbian president’s press service has officially confirmed the visit. This will be Zelenskyy’s first visit to Serbia during his presidency.
A detailed agenda for the talks has not yet been published. However, judging by the contacts between Belgrade and Kyiv in recent months, the central topics are likely to include bilateral relations, the European integration of both countries, the expansion of economic cooperation, a possible free trade agreement, regional security, and Serbia’s participation in Ukraine’s reconstruction.
In May, Zelenskyy and Vučić had already discussed the development of bilateral relations over the phone. At that time, the Ukrainian president placed particular emphasis on resuming negotiations on a free trade zone with Serbia. Vučić, for his part, cited economic cooperation as one of the key areas for further rapprochement between the two countries.
Following this, talks between representatives of the two countries’ governments took place in Belgrade. On May 21, Serbian Minister of Domestic and Foreign Trade Jagoda Lazarević and Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister and Trade Representative Taras Kachka signed a joint statement on the continuation of negotiations on a free trade agreement. At the same time, a Serbian-Ukrainian business forum was held with the participation of representatives from about 30 companies.
The upcoming visit continues a noticeable revival of political contacts between Belgrade and Kyiv.
In June 2025, Vučić visited Ukraine for the first time since the start of the full-scale Russian-Ukrainian war, taking part in the “Ukraine–Southeast Europe” summit in Odesa. At that time, he reaffirmed Serbia’s support for Ukraine’s territorial integrity and offered Serbia’s participation in the reconstruction of one or more Ukrainian cities or regions.
On July 15, 2026, Vučić was in Ukraine again—for the 5th “Ukraine–Southeast Europe” summit in Kyiv.
At the same time, Serbia’s position on the war remains unique. Belgrade supports Ukraine’s territorial integrity and has voted in favor of a number of relevant international documents, provides humanitarian aid, but has not joined the EU sanctions against Russia. Vucic has also repeatedly avoided signing certain regional declarations insofar as they called for increased pressure on Moscow.
Therefore, the very fact of the Ukrainian president’s visit to Belgrade carries political significance: Serbia is attempting to simultaneously maintain traditional relations with Russia, develop relations with Kyiv, and continue its path toward EU membership.
Another topic of discussion could be the new regional Carpathian Initiative proposed by Ukraine. Zelenskyy has previously stated that Serbia, in particular, is planned to be involved in the initiative, and cooperation could cover the economy, logistics, security, tourism, and Ukraine’s reconstruction.
The economic aspect of the visit is particularly relevant against the backdrop of the resumption of bilateral trade.
According to official data from the Serbian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the country’s Statistical Office, trade between Serbia and Ukraine totaled 391.8 million euros in 2025. Serbia exported goods worth 179.6 million euros to Ukraine and imported Ukrainian products worth 212.2 million euros. Thus, the trade balance remained in Ukraine’s favor by approximately 32.6 million euros.
In dollar terms, according to Marko Čadež, president of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, bilateral trade reached $442.2 million, practically returning to the level of the last pre-war year, 2021. Serbian exports totaled $202.9 million, while Ukrainian exports to Serbia amounted to $239.3 million. About 900 Serbian companies conduct trade with Ukraine, including approximately 670 that import Ukrainian goods.
According to Serbian Economist, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic reaffirmed that the country’s accession to the European Union remains Belgrade’s strategic goal and expressed hope to host Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on a bilateral visit.
Vucic made these remarks in an interview with Rainer Novak, editor-in-chief of the Austrian newspaper Die Presse, published on July 23.
“The European path is our strategic goal. There are no other paths for us. This means that we must cooperate closely with all candidate countries,” said the Serbian president.
According to him, it is in the European Union that he sees his country’s future.
Speaking about relations with Ukraine, Vučić stated that he sees no reason to abandon cooperation with Kyiv. He reiterated that Serbia supports Ukraine’s territorial integrity and provides it with financial, medical, energy, and humanitarian aid.
“I hope we will be able to welcome him to Serbia on a bilateral basis,” said Vučić, referring to Zelenskyy.
Vucic also announced that Serbia is ready to participate in the reconstruction of one of Ukraine’s smaller cities. In addition, the parties are discussing the development of a road and rail route from Trieste through Croatia, Serbia, Romania, and Moldova to Ukraine.
The Serbian president had previously reaffirmed his support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, but did not sign the final declaration, which condemned Russian aggression and called for increased sanctions pressure on Moscow.
Commenting on criticism of cooperation with Kyiv, Vučić stated that Ukraine had not taken any action against Serbia and had not recognized Kosovo’s independence.
“We cannot oppose someone just because someone else opposes them. I see no reason why we should not cooperate with Ukraine,” he said.
At the same time, Vučić emphasized the need to take into account Serbia’s relations with Asian countries and Russia and reaffirmed the country’s military neutrality.
Serbia was granted EU candidate status in March 2012, and membership negotiations began in January 2014. In recent years, the opening of new negotiation chapters has effectively stalled, despite Belgrade’s statements that it is ready to meet the technical criteria for membership.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that Taras Kachka will serve as Ukraine’s representative to the European Union in Brussels and, at the same time, perform the duties of Ukraine’s trade representative.
“We are still awaiting decisions on four more clusters. I believe that Taras will be able to implement this most effectively at Ukraine’s Mission to the EU in Brussels. Given Taras’s proven track record and experience in trade policy, he will combine this work with the European Union with the role of Ukraine’s trade representative within the framework of our bilateral trade agreements with key partners,” Zelenskyy wrote on his Telegram channel on Friday.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has signed two decrees enacting decisions by the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine to align sanctions with those of the European Union, according to the president’s press service.
“The synchronization of EU sanctions under the 20th package covers 120 individuals and organizations and imposes economic sanctions targeting key sectors of the Russian economy. Some of them are already subject to Ukrainian sanctions. Today’s decision applies to an additional 16 Russian citizens and 31 companies from Russia, Belarus, the UAE, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine,” the statement reads.
Among the individuals are heads of Russian strategic enterprises, state-funded institutions, units of the Russian army, and entities serving Russia in our temporarily occupied territories.
The list also includes Russian defense industry enterprises, manufacturers of electronic warfare equipment, software, and drone components, as well as companies involved in oil, gas, and gold extraction. In particular, restrictions have been imposed on the Russian manufacturer of aerospace products and drone components, LLC
“Atlant Aero,” as well as on the Russian manufacturer of communication systems and components for UAVs and missiles, LLC “Irz-Zvyazok.”
Sanctions have been imposed on companies from the UAE that sell machine tools and laboratory equipment, chemical products, and spare parts for commercial aircraft, as well as on an oil exporter in Belarus.
Ukraine has also imposed restrictive measures on three Russians: Prosecutor Lyudmila Balandina, who was involved in systematic repression and human rights violations against individuals who supported Ukraine or criticized the Russian government; Judge Dmitry Gordeev, also implicated in repression, who issued politically motivated rulings against opposition figures and human rights defenders; and Russian editor and propagandist Maria Sittel, who systematically disseminated disinformation.
Sanctions have also been imposed on 19 Iranian citizens, 7 Sudanese citizens, and 11 Iranian companies involved in Iran’s ballistic missile and drone programs.
“We continue to coordinate sanctions regimes with the EU and our partners. We expect further pressure on Russia and all those who help it sustain its aggression. We are already finalizing joint work on draft EU and partner-state sanctions decisions, including the 21st sanctions package,” noted Vladyslav Vlasyuk, the President’s Advisor and Representative on Sanctions Policy.
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.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy discussed with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev efforts to end the war in Ukraine, as well as the possibility of holding the next round of Ukrainian-American-Russian talks in Azerbaijan.
“We also discussed peace efforts. It is very important for Ukraine that Russia finds the strength to end this unjust war. Of course, we highly value the role of our partners in mediating this process,” Zelenskyy said during a joint statement with Aliyev in the city of Gabala (Azerbaijan) on Saturday.
He emphasized that Ukraine is ready for trilateral talks. “We had such talks in Turkey; we had such talks with our American partners in Switzerland. Undoubtedly, we are ready for the upcoming talks in Azerbaijan if Russia is ready for diplomacy,” Zelenskyy added.
As reported, on February 26, following a meeting between the Ukrainian negotiating team led by Rustem Umerov and Davyd Arakhamia and U.S. President Donald Trump’s envoys Steven Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy announced an increased readiness to hold the next trilateral meeting, likely in early March in Abu Dhabi (UAE). The last round of talks took place in Geneva (Switzerland), and the previous ones in Abu Dhabi.
On March 2, Zelenskyy clarified that the trilateral Ukraine-U.S.-Russia meeting was tentatively scheduled for March 5–6 in Abu Dhabi; however, due to hostilities, the Ukrainian side cannot confirm that the meeting will take place there, though no one has canceled it.
On March 5, a source close to the negotiating delegation told the Interfax-Ukraine news agency that the next meeting as part of the trilateral Ukraine-U.S.-Russia talks on ending the war in Ukraine has been postponed indefinitely for the time being.
