Putin's ally Medvedchuk is 'present' in Serbian politics — Balkan Observer project manager

Natalia Ishchenko, head of the Balkan Observer project, noted that numerous violations took place during the parliamentary elections in Serbia

She said this on the Espreso TV channel.

"In the new Serbian parliament, there will be a person from the party allegedly founded by Viktor Medvedchuk. That is, Medvedchuk is no longer in Ukraine, but he is now present in Serbian politics. This suggests that Russia is stepping up its hybrid offensive in the Balkan region, especially in Serbia," Ishchenko said.

The head of the Balkan Observer project also added that the Serbian opposition lost at the national level to the ruling party with an undeniable result.

"The ruling party has about 46%, while the opposition has only 23%. Therefore, the national election results are not subject to appeal, except for what happened in Belgrade during the voting. Because there were massive violations in Belgrade. The authorities brought voters from Bosnia and Herzegovina. Yes, they have Serbian passports. Yes, they have the right to vote in the parliamentary elections, but these people were urgently issued with a residence permit in Belgrade. That's why the opposition came out to protest, but it was small," Ishchenko said.

• On December 17, parliamentary and local elections were held in Serbia. The Serbian Progressive Party of incumbent President Aleksandar Vucic won a landslide victory, but the opposition claimed violations and voting fraud.
• On December 18, an international monitoring mission stated that Serbia's ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) had unfairly won the early parliamentary elections due to media bias, undue influence of President Aleksandar Vucic and vote buying.
• On December 18, thousands of supporters of the Serbia Against Violence movement gathered in Belgrade to protest against election fraud in the Serbian capital.