Serbia’s long-standing political games and reckless dependence on Russia have finally caught up with it. President Aleksandar Vučić announced that, starting Tuesday, the NIS oil refinery in Pančevo will stop operating—an unprecedented failure that directly exposes the incompetence and irresponsibility of Serbia’s leadership.
For years, Serbia has willingly placed itself in Moscow’s hands, allowing Russian ownership to dominate critical sectors like energy. Now, with U.S. sanctions hitting the Russia-controlled NIS, Vučić claims to be “surprised” and “confused” by Washington’s decision—despite months of warnings. The shutdown is not a shock. It is the inevitable outcome of Serbia’s deliberate political alignment with the Kremlin.
As usual, Vučić is trying to calm citizens with vague promises that the state “has enough solutions and enough money,” while offering no concrete plan. His statements sound less like leadership and more like panic control.
Instead of taking responsibility, he points fingers at the United States, insisting he “does not understand the logic” behind the decision—yet he openly admits Serbia is not the owner of its own refinery. Serbia willingly surrendered that ownership more than a decade ago, giving Russian companies almost total control. Now Vučić acts surprised that Serbia cannot manage what it never truly possessed.
He claims Serbia will be dragged into geopolitical camps, as if the country has not already spent years acting as Moscow’s most loyal political satellite in the region. This crisis is not imposed on Serbia—it is manufactured inside Belgrade’s own institutions.
Even now, Vučić admits that Russia “is in no hurry” to change NIS ownership, putting Serbia’s energy security at risk while Belgrade continues to pretend it can remain “neutral.” Neutrality has become a convenient illusion—one that collapses the moment the Kremlin’s interests are threatened.
Serbia has no long-term gas contract with Russia, even though it depends on Russian gas for more than 80% of its needs. Yet Vučić insists he will “try again” to negotiate, as if endless begging in Moscow is a national strategy.
This refinery shutdown is not simply an economic problem; it is a direct consequence of a foreign policy built on denial, submission, and manipulation. It exposes how deeply Serbia has trapped itself between Russia and the West—and how little control Vučić actually has over the crises he created.
Instead of accountability, Belgrade offers excuses. Instead of solutions, it offers drama. And once again, ordinary citizens will pay the price for Serbia’s political servitude to Moscow.
