Balkan press review

In the spotlight: the war in Ukraine affects the Balkans

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucicà in Tirana, Albania, December 21, 2021. (Illustrative image) REUTERS - FLORION GOGA

Text by: Courrier des Balkans Follow |

Philippe Bertinchamps

3 mins

A press review presented in partnership with 

Le Courrier des Balkans.

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Throughout the Balkans, rallies and acts of support for the Ukrainian people

have been organized since the beginning of the Russian invasion.

Several countries have already welcomed their

first refugees

and are preparing to receive more.

In Moldova, a country bordering Ukraine, residents

are bending over backwards to help

the tens of thousands of people crossing customs, most of them women and children.

Many Moldovans fear a Russian invasion.

Moscow already controls the secessionist republic of Transnistria and 

claims the "

federalization

 "

of the small country still kept on the fringes of the European Union.

Kosovo and Serbia choose sides

Also worried, Kosovo wants to join NATO.

Pristina

urges the United States

to strengthen its military presence on its territory and warns the international community against a possible " 

domino effect

 " of the Russian threat, which could lead to " 

an invasion of Kosovo on the Ukrainian model

 ".

Currently, the country's independence is recognized by more than a hundred countries, with the exception of Russia and Serbia.

The only state in the region that still refuses to sanction Moscow, Serbia is moving backwards.

During the United Nations Assembly on March 2, 2022, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić condemned the Russian aggression with the tip of his tongue, without however voting for the slightest sanction.

His position is pushing more and more Serbian personalities

to react

 :

can this tightrope walker between Moscow and Brussels still last, while Russian bombs are raining down on Ukraine?

In Belgrade, much of the press aligned itself with Moscow, not hesitating to

serve Kremlin propaganda.

According to tabloids and television channels close to the regime, Russia is only responding to " 

threats

 " from Ukraine and NATO. 

Concerns and tensions

The consequences of the European sanctions imposed following Russia's invasion of Ukraine are already being felt.

In bankruptcy, the Russian bank Sberbank should

soon disappear from the Balkans:

on March 1, Croatia announced the takeover of the Croatian subsidiary by the HPB postal bank, owned by the State.

Similar procedures are ongoing in Slovenia, in the two entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina and in Serbia.

Greece is worried about its minority in Ukraine.

She

denounces the murder

of several Greek civilians in the bombardments around Mariupol and calls Moscow to account.

More than 100,000 Greeks still live on the shores of the Sea of ​​Azov in southeastern Ukraine.

For its part, the Bulgarian government has

decided to dismiss 

its Defense Minister, Stefan Ianev, who refused to use the term war in connection with Ukraine.

His departure says a lot about the conflict between Russophiles and Atlanticists which has long divided Bulgaria.

In Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ukraine brings back memories

As Sarajevo celebrated 30 years of

 independence on March 1,

the bombardment of the Ukrainian capital by the Russian army shocked the spirits, awakening painful memories in the city, besieged for almost four years, until the end in the winter of 1996. In the supermarkets, the oil and flour shelves were emptied.

The Prime Minister of the Federation however publicly affirmed this weekend that the country had sufficient stocks, but the inhabitants find it difficult to believe it.

In Banja Luka, the capital of the Serbian entity,

no one wants to settle for the return of the war.

The conflict in Ukraine is encouraging more and more young people to exile in the West.

Especially since the Serbian member of the country's tripartite presidency refuses to rule on Ukraine and to vote on sanctions against Russia, raising fears a little more of the disintegration of Bosnia-Herzegovina.

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