President Aleksandar Vučić heavily defended the integrity of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), framing it as an unassailable global authority that would never sign off on a falsified document. Speaking during a live press event following an inspection of the newly constructed Unified Train Dispatch Control Center, Vučić reiterated that an explicit joint investigation by the FSB and Serbian intelligence proved that an acoustic weapon—commonly referred to as a “sound cannon”—was not deployed against demonstrators during the mass anti-government protests in Belgrade on March 15, 2025.
The ongoing diplomatic and public relations crisis stems from the 2025 demonstrations, where citizens marking a 15-minute silence for the 16 victims of the Novi Sad railway station canopy collapse suddenly scattered. Witnesses and independent journalists alleged that police used a Long Range Acoustic Device (LRAD 450XL), leading to widespread medical reports of extreme vertigo, tinnitus, and nausea, alongside calls for an internal investigation from the European Union.
The Infallibility of Alexander Bortnikov
Responding directly to inquiries from independent broadcaster N1, Vučić staked his entire political survival on the issue, asserting that he would not remain president for a single day had a sonic weapon genuinely been discharged into the crowd. He argued that the professional reputation of FSB Director Alexander Bortnikov acts as the ultimate guarantor of truth.
“Do you honestly believe that Bortnikov would put his signature on a flat-out lie? Even if he wanted to help us out as a professional, he would have found a way to pull back and slip away rather than put his name on a forgery. The FSB is one of the most respected intelligence services globally. They would never issue a fraudulent verdict.”
— President Aleksandar Vučić
Vučić heavily highlighted the unconventional scientific testing methods deployed by the Russian agency at a specialized BIA (Security Intelligence Agency) testing ground. To verify that the sonic devices in the state’s inventory caused no physiological damage, Russian teams conducted acoustic experiments using live dogs instead of human subjects, concluding categorically that the equipment caused no long-term harm and remained unused on the day of the protest.
The “History of Dishonor” and Structural Targets
The rhetorical focus shifted to the domestic press, specifically N1 and Nova S, whom the president accused of orchestrating a coordinated psychological warfare campaign to manipulate public perception and execute a Western-backed “color revolution.”
STATE PRESS MANAGEMENT PROTOCOL
THE PRESIDENT'S RHETORIC THE STATE LEGAL MECHANISM
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• Labels critical reporting on the LRAD • Higher Public Prosecutor's Office
device as a "history of dishonor." investigates the student movement.
• Rejects personal civil lawsuits to • Focuses on criminalizing the act of
maintain a public democratic image. "spreading panic and false news."
While Vučić explicitly noted that he will not pursue personal lawsuits against the broadcasters, he condemned their investigative work as a historic low. Concurrently, the Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office continues a highly scrutinized criminal investigation, attempting to link student activists from the “Studenti 2.0” movement to the intentional simulation of panic, effectively flipping the legal focus from state overreach to opposition sabotage.
Downplaying a concurrent weekend protest rally in Novi Sad, Vučić claimed state law enforcement over-estimated crowd sizes, dismissing attendees as a marginal group living in a self-contained bubble who fail to recognize that the political leverage they held during the high-water mark of early 2025 has completely dissolved.
