Zelensky warns Ukraine has 'virtually no' thermal plant intact ahead of winter during first visit to Serbia

Zelensky's first visit to Serbia

Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Belgrade on Friday evening for a two-day visit, his first official trip to Serbia since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. He met with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic on Saturday, discussing energy, security, and European Union cooperation. Serbia remains one of the few European countries that has not imposed sanctions on Moscow, maintaining its longstanding alliance with Russia. Vucic said his government's policy had not changed, though he announced a new humanitarian aid program for Ukraine covering medicine and energy.

I am convinced that this visit will contribute to the development of relations between Serbia and Ukraine, and to the strengthening of cooperation in areas of common interest.

Vucic also addressed the question of military cooperation directly.

We did not discuss military cooperation today or for the moment. What will happen when the war is over is another question.

Energy infrastructure in ruins

Zelensky warned that Ukraine approaches the coming winter with "virtually no" thermal power plant in working condition, after near-daily Russian drone and missile strikes against energy infrastructure since February 2022. He had already stated on February 14 that "not a single power plant" had been spared by Russian strikes. Ukraine and its allies accuse Moscow of systematically targeting infrastructure, depriving hundreds of thousands of households of heating and electricity.

Russian missiles aim precisely to make the lives of Ukrainians unbearable.

Zelensky stressed the need for better access to interceptor missiles to counter intensifying long-range Russian strikes. He noted that missile components arrive in Russia from "almost all continents, including from our close partners," and called for stricter sanctions to prevent the supply of missile parts.

These components arrive, then the missiles strike people, killing children, civilians and soldiers.

Whatever happens, it is imperative to give everyone every chance to live with dignity, hence the vital importance of our energy cooperation.

Mounting civilian toll

Russian strikes overnight from Friday to Saturday killed at least three people in Pukhivka near Kyiv: a grandfather, grandmother, and their three-year-old grandson, according to Zelensky's post on X. A separate strike involving six ballistic missiles against civilian infrastructure in Kyiv killed one more person. Seven people were wounded. The combined attacks and front-line bombardments left 13 dead over the last 24 hours as of Saturday.

On Wednesday, at least 17 people had been killed in overnight Russian strikes on Kyiv and its region. Ukraine's air defense failed to intercept any missiles that night due to a lack of interceptors.

Serbia's balancing act

Serbia, heavily dependent on Russia for energy supplies, has never aligned with European sanctions against Moscow. In May 2025, Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) accused Serbian arms companies of selling ammunition to Ukraine via third countries, "despite Belgrade's official neutrality." Vucic subsequently promised to order contracts not executed "when there is suspicion about the final recipient" and said Serbia had halted all exports of arms, ammunition, and military equipment.

Zelensky traveled to Washington in late July to meet Donald Trump, seeking Patriot missiles, the only systems capable of shooting down Russian ballistic missiles. More than four years into the conflict, strikes are intensifying on both sides of a nearly static front line, with a growing number of civilian casualties.