The inscription was spotted a day after a monument to Ukrainian poet Taras Shevchenko was damaged in the city on the fourth anniversary of the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The Ukrainian Embassy in Belgrade condemned the damage to the monument, calling the incident a shameful act of vandalism and an attempt to desecrate the symbol of the Ukrainian people on a tragic date for the country. The diplomatic mission called on the Serbian authorities to investigate the incident and bring those responsible to justice. It is noted that this is not the first case of desecration of the monument, near which protests of solidarity with Ukraine had previously taken place.
Political scientist and journalist Boris Varga said that such incidents do not surprise him. According to him, the monument had previously been defaced with the Z symbol, used as a sign of Russian aggression. He believes that pro-Russian activists may be behind such actions. However, no official information was provided about prosecutions for previous cases of vandalism.
On February 24, a memorial event was held at the Shevchenko monument: participants brought Ukrainian flags, laid flowers, lit candles and left the inscription “No to war.” On the same day, two actions took place simultaneously in Belgrade – anti-war and in support of Russian aggression. The participants were separated by police cordons.
Context
According to the results of social research, Serbia is the only European country among those surveyed that maintains support for the illegitimate Russian President Vladimir Putin, notes Radio Slobodna Evropa. In addition, Serbia remains the only EU candidate country in the Western Balkans that has not imposed sanctions against Russia over the war in Ukraine.
