18 April 2022

The War in Ukraine: Aftershocks in the Balkans

Dejana Saric,Pierre Morcos

As Russia’s war in Ukraine drags into its second month, a deep sense of unease has settled across the Western Balkans. The images coming out of Ukraine have revived memories of the horrors the region experienced in the 1990s, particularly in Bosnia and Herzegovina (hereafter Bosnia) and between Serbia and Kosovo. Given Russia’s strong economic, military, and soft power connections, the conflict has raised concerns that Moscow might try to further destabilize the region to deflect attention from its flawed campaign in Ukraine. Often referred to as Europe’s “soft underbelly,” the Balkans could turn into a new source of unrest in an already shattered continent.

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