Relations between Ukraine and Serbia are not strategic, but the mutual interests that have brought the two countries closer are also influencing the way Kiev handles the issue of Kosovo's independence, experts interviewed by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty assess.

All this discussion was prompted after the first official visit of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to Belgrade, where he said that he respects the territorial integrity of partners and that Ukraine's position on Kosovo's declaration of independence "remains unchanged."
Kateryna Shymkevych, an expert at the Ukraine-based Analytical Center for Balkan Studies, says that Kiev sees cooperation with Belgrade as beneficial for ammunition supplies, relations with the European Union and efforts to bring Serbia, even partially, closer to the West.

While Serbia, she says, needs better relations with Germany and France, and sees Ukraine as a bridge to the EU, Ukraine has concrete interests in relation to the supply of weapons and ammunition and wants to maintain a channel of communication with a traditionally pro-Russian country.
"Ukraine clearly understands that Serbia is a pro-Russian country, but telling Brussels that we will not cooperate with Serbia is not a viable option," Shymkevych tells Radio Free Europe.

Yevhen Mahda, executive director of the Institute for World Policy in Kiev, expresses a similar opinion.
He says that Ukraine and Serbia cannot be called strategic partners, and estimates that it was Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic who really benefited the most from Zelensky's visit.
But Mahda does not rule out that Ukraine also has interests in this relationship.
“In short, [Ukraine benefits from] ammunition supplies and the prospect of using Serbia as a channel for negotiations with Russia,” he tells REL.
And, the issue of Kosovo also enters into this equation of interests, with its non-recognition by Ukraine, which was one of the points of discussion during Zelensky's visit to Belgrade.

Why doesn't Ukraine recognize Kosovo?

Kiev justifies its non-recognition stance towards Kosovo's independence by invoking the principle of territorial integrity, and the fear that recognition could be used by Russia as a precedent for the occupied Ukrainian territories.

But Kosovo argues that the comparison does not hold: in 2010, the International Court of Justice found that Kosovo's declaration of independence did not violate international law.
In an analysis published this week for the Kosovar Center for Security Studies, Ramadan Ilazi argues that Kosovo and the Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories are not comparable cases, and that Ukraine should not create “fictitious parallels” between them.
Kosovo, he points out, gained independence after years of repression, war, NATO intervention, and a long international process to determine its status. Crimea, on the other hand, was invaded and annexed by Russia through military force.

Even the professor of peace and conflict studies at the University of Dublin, Gëzim Visoka, places this distinction at the center of his criticism.
According to him, "there are no parallels between Kosovo and the occupied Ukrainian territories," and Ukraine would be better off recognizing Kosovo than creating comparisons that, in the end, could serve Russia's interests to justify the occupation of Ukrainian territories.
"In this context, I think that Ukraine's unnecessary and unfriendly comment on Kosovo's independence not only gives legitimacy to Serbia's obstructive approach, but also provides another justification to the five EU member states that have not yet recognized Kosovo," he tells Radio Free Europe.

This argument was also emphasized by the acting Minister of Foreign Affairs and Diaspora of Kosovo, Glauk Konjufca, saying that the state of Kosovo was born from the people's struggle for freedom, and liberation in 1999 came after "years of systematic oppression and the genocidal campaign of the Milošević regime."
"What followed was not an act of annexation, occupation or territorial conquest, but a comprehensive international process under United Nations administration and international mediation for the final status of Kosovo," Konjufca said a few days ago.

Furthermore, Visoka says that Kosovo has done enough for Ukraine for Kiev to consider recognition, although he acknowledges that the Ukrainian decision may depend on the end of the war and the strategic direction the country will take.
"Kosovo's annoyance and reaction to Zelensky's statement in Belgrade are measured and understandable. There is a limit to unilateral support for Ukraine, and Kosovo may have already reached that point," says Visoka.
Kosovo has supported Ukraine since the beginning of the Russian invasion, aligning itself with Western sanctions, providing aid and shelter to Ukrainians, and politically supporting Kiev.

But, for Kateryna Shymkevych from the Analytical Center for Balkan Studies, the reaction to Zelensky's statement is "unjustified."
"The Ukrainian authorities have never promised to recognize Kosovo. This may be a bitter truth, but it is the truth," she tells Radio Free Europe.
Shymkevych says that for Ukraine, the concern is not just about Serbia – it is also about how Russia is using Kosovo as a precedent. Moscow, she explains, has used the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice on Kosovo to support its arguments about Crimea, Donetsk and Luhansk. Donetsk and Luhansk are two regions in eastern Ukraine that Russia claims to have annexed but are internationally recognized as part of Ukrainian territory.
Thus, for Kiev, she says, there is a real dilemma: recognizing Kosovo may not have direct consequences in relations with most countries, but it could give Russia another propaganda argument.

"This could create even greater chaos in the international system, potentially leading to civil wars, further erosion or even the complete destruction of the principles of international law," she says.
Mahda emphasizes as the only consequence the possibility of worsening relations with EU states that currently do not recognize Kosovo.
"Within Ukraine, the recognition of Kosovo's independence will not have any negative consequences," he adds, saying that he was convinced of this during his visit to Kosovo in December last year.

However, Shymkevych emphasizes that non-recognition has not prevented Ukraine from building increasingly close relations with Kosovo.
She mentions cooperation in the Ukrainian peacekeeping mission in KFOR until 2022, recognition of Kosovo passports for humanitarian purposes, economic and trade ties, and networks of experts working against propaganda and disinformation.

In 2025, Ukraine also appointed a representative of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Albania and Kosovo.
In an interview given to Radio Free Europe on Monday, the head of the Ukrainian parliament's Foreign Policy Committee, Oleksandr Merezhko, said that the stance on Kosovo's independence may change after the end of the war in Ukraine, depending on "the stance of the European Union and its member states."