Putin Just Lost His Key Ally in Europe. Here’s What Happens Next

Student protesters challenged the regime and dismantled a longtime political grip on Belgrade. During his years in office, the Serbian president carefully balanced European overtures against deep Moscow partnerships while rejecting Western sanctions. This sudden defeat triggers urgent questions about the Kremlin’s strategic foothold across southeastern Europe.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. Security analyst Ivana Stradner, a research fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracy (FDD), joins Kyiv Post’s Jason Jay Smart to break down the entrenched networks Russia established across Serbian energy, intelligence, and regional security. Removing a reliable partner does not instantly erase decades of Russian soft power or intelligence assets. Belgrade’s opposition figures have also voiced skepticism toward sanctions, clouding future foreign policy alignments. Who retains power behind closed doors, and what leverage does Moscow still possess? For Ukraine, future policy shifts in Serbia could reverberate directly across European defense dynamics and ongoing battlefield pressures. Stradner separates genuine strategic losses for the Kremlin from cosmetic political disruptions that leave old alliances intact.