IN THE WORLD TODAY

‘Z’ symbol on show at Serb marches

PRO-RUSSIA marches were staged in Serbia and the Serb-run entity in Bosnia amid ceremonies to mark the defeat of Nazi Germany in the Second World War. Serbia organised military jet flyovers and officials laid wreaths as part of the commemorations.

A Serbian cabinet minister and Russia’s ambassador to Serbia joined dozens of people in the Moscow-backed march in Belgrade, an annual event mirroring the one held in Russia to honour Second World War victims.

Marchers carried a cardboard figure of Russian President Vladimir Putin and a big “Z” sign symbolising support for the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Serbia’s minister without portfolio, Nenad Popovic, who is openly pro-Russian, claimed Serbia and Russia “always have been on the right side of history” as he joined in the march, where people carry portraits of relatives who died fighting Axis forces.

Pro-Russia flags and banners could be seen at a Victory Day gathering in the southern Serbian city of Nis, regional N1 television said. Serbia has joined condemnation of the Russian attack at the United Nations, but has refused to impose sanctions against Moscow despite formally seeking to join the EU.

Pro-Russian sentiment and support for the invasion remain high in Serbia and among the Bosnian Serbs whose populist leaders have fostered close relations with Putin. In the main Bosnian Serb town of Banja Luka, top officials and the Russian ambassador in Bosnia took part in the march, which included banners openly supporting the Russian invasion and “the fight against Nazism in Ukraine and the world”.

Ukraine’s embassy in Belgrade criticised Serbia in a statement.