Russian Despatch: Kremlin Clings to Balkan Buddies Dodik and Vucic

Over the past four and a half years, Russia’s war against Ukraine has devoured an immense number of human lives and resources but failed to lessen the Kremlin’s determination to pursue its aggressive tactics in hope of an eventual triumph. Vexed by the protracted stalemate at the front, Moscow is now annihilating Ukraine’s economic capacity with massive daily bombings. It has also embarked on a sabotage campaign in Europe to try to frighten Europeans into ending their assistance to Kyiv.

Now, as if being rewarded for its obduracy, Russia has scored a major diplomatic victory with the US. with Donald Trump’s administration temporarily suspending sanctions on Russian diesel in an attempt to bring down fuel prices ahead of US mid-term elections.

In the Balkans, the resilience of Moscow’s influence is also in evidence. Despite numerous setbacks in recent years, Russia is still eager to assist its local allies and ready to resort to intelligence operations in order to sabotage the region’s integration into the EU and NATO.