Standing beside Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić in Belgrade on Saturday, Volodymyr Zelensky delivered one of his starkest warnings yet: Ukraine is entering the heating season with virtually no functioning thermal power plants left. Overnight Russian strikes on the Kyiv region killed four people, including a child, and a further 13 civilians and soldiers died across the country in the preceding 24 hours. Zelensky was making his first official visit to Serbia since taking office in 2019 — a diplomatic signal in itself, given that Belgrade remains one of the only European capitals still refusing to impose sanctions on Moscow. Zelensky was direct about what the destruction means.

Thermal plants complement Ukraine's nuclear grid, and without them, millions of people face the cold without reliable electricity or heating. "Russian missiles are aimed precisely at making the lives of Ukrainians unbearable," he told reporters, adding that the attacks were deliberately targeting energy infrastructure. He renewed his call for tougher international sanctions to stop missile components from flowing into Russia — components, he said, that were arriving "from almost every continent, including from our close partners." Those parts, he argued, are turned into the weapons that are killing Ukrainian children.

Vučić confirmed that the two leaders had discussed the war but stated firmly that Serbian government policy had not changed. Belgrade continues to provide non-military aid to Ukraine while maintaining its alliance with Moscow — a balancing act that has drawn growing criticism across the European Union. The Kremlin, for its part, has accused Serbian firms of selling munitions to Ukraine, a charge Belgrade disputes. Meanwhile, the broader conflict is escalating on both sides.

Russia has sharply increased ballistic missile salvos against Kyiv in recent months, while Ukraine has responded with record drone strikes deep inside Russian territory.