About a thousand people gathered in Belgrade last night to express their support for Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, as well as their hostility to NATO, AFP reported.

Protesters waving Russian flags chanted “Serbs and Russians, brothers forever” and anti-NATO slogans.

#Belgrade (Serbia) is the only city in the world where mass rallies in support of #Russia take place pic.twitter.com/oNB6H1Y1ue

— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) March 4, 2022

“Ukraine is on the verge of liberation from the neo-Nazis. The Russians, our brothers, will liberate the country and, hopefully, the world,” Nikola Babic, a 22-year-old security guard, told AFP.

The agency notes that although the invasion of Russian forces in Ukraine has provoked unanimous condemnation in Europe, Serbian public media has in recent days defended President Putin's actions.

Serbian President Alexander Vucic has officially condemned the invasion of Ukraine in front of the UN but has refused to impose sanctions on Moscow.

Russia controls Serbia's oil and gas industry and has veto power in the UN Security Council, which has prevented it from officially recognizing Kosovo, a former Serbian province that declared independence in 2008, the agency said.

/BTA

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