Ongoing propaganda narratives in Serbia that attempt to portray the country as a perpetual victim are continuing with new claims targeting Kosovo.
Most recently, the Belgrade-based newspaper Telegraf speculated that Serbia could become a target of an attack by Iran due to the presence of the American military base Camp Bondsteel.
However, a key fact omitted from these claims is that Camp Bondsteel is located in Kosovo — not on the territory of Serbia. Analysts and observers view such narratives as part of a broader propaganda effort aimed at presenting Serbia as threatened by international developments.
Pro-Russian Telegram Channels Call for Attack on Bondsteel
At the same time, pro-Russian channels on the messaging platform Telegram have circulated calls for attacks against the U.S. military base in Kosovo. Certain groups continue spreading false information and disinformation related to the Republic of Kosovo.
Comments such as “Don’t judge it, strike Bondsteel,” and “Here’s another American base — thanks in advance,” have been circulating across Telegram channels and other social networks since February 28, when the United States and Israel launched attacks against Iran.
Camp Bondsteel, located near Ferizaj in Kosovo, is the largest U.S. military base in the Balkans.
In several Telegram groups — some with between 10,000 and more than 80,000 followers — users have shared maps showing the marked location of the base, accompanied by messages such as “This is currently the biggest threat to Iran,” as well as maps illustrating the range of Iranian ballistic missiles with Kosovo highlighted and captions reading “Just do it.”
One of the most visited far-right Telegram channels in Serbia, Bunt je stanje duha, posted the coordinates of Camp Bondsteel on March 1, writing:
“They say we are extremists and that we should be ashamed for wanting to see Bondsteel in flames.”
By the time of publication, the post had received nearly 18,000 views.
Most Serbian-language Telegram channels of this kind were created after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and are widely considered pro-Russian, frequently criticizing cooperation with Western countries.
Meanwhile, administrators of another Telegram channel, Koridor, which has around 11,000 followers, stated that they would not “broadcast news about this war unless there is significant news — for example that Bondsteel has been hit.” The message also claimed that both sides in the conflict had harmed Serbs and expressed a desire to see both sides disappear.
Earlier posts in the same channel also shared the coordinates of Camp Bondsteel, accompanied by the message:
“Coordinates for the Iranians — this is where [Israeli Prime Minister] Netanyahu and all your enemies live.”
On Sunday evening, the same coordinates were again circulated, alongside an image showing the range of Iranian ballistic missiles and the comment: “You can’t reach it, can you? Come on, let’s see.”
This is not the first time that pro-government media aligned with the authorities of Aleksandar Vučić, along with certain online groups, have spread claims and disinformation related to Kosovo.
