Zelenskyy visits Serbia as Russian strikes kill 4

Discusses EU membership, bilateral ties with Vucic

Belgrade: President Volody­myr Zelenskyy denou­nced deadly Russian attacks on Kyiv as he visited Serbia, which has maintained friend­ly relations with Moscow despite its invasion of Ukraine.

Four people, including a three-year-old child, were killed in overnight strikes on Kyiv and the surrounding region. Zelenskyy, on his first official visit to Serbia, held talks with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic on their countries’ efforts to join the European Union, bilateral ties and cooperation.

Vucic reiterated that Serbia respects Ukraine’s territorial integrity. Zelenskyy said deliveries of Patriot air defence interceptors had slowed and licences for Ukraine to manufacture them were held up by paperwork. 

Zelenskyy said Kyiv had again come under heavy attack. “The situation in Ukraine is difficult,” he told the press. Meanwhile, Ukrainian forces struck Russian oil facilities.

NZ sanctions 33

New Zealand announced sanctions against 33 individuals and entities supporting Russia's war in Ukraine, Foreign Minister Winston Peters said. 

The country has sanctioned more than 2,000 individuals, entities and vessels since enforcing the Russia Sanctions Act in March 2022.

Meanwhile, a Ukrainian dr­one ‘accidentally’ entered Bul­garian airspace from Rom­ania and exploded near the Trans-Balkan gas pipeline on Satu­rday. No casualties or da­mage were reported.

Putin may test Nato unity 

Russian President Vladi­mir Putin could test Nato’s unity with a limited attack on a member state within the next few years, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing new US intelligence assessments. Possible scenarios include cyberattacks, covert operations or a small-scale military incursion. Officials believe such action may seek to expose divisions within Nato rath­er than seize territory. A direct land incursion is co­nsidered the least likely scenario.