Serbian writer and columnist Dragan Velikić has sharply criticized President Aleksandar Vučić’s rhetoric on Kosovo, questioning the credibility of nationalist slogans calling for the “return of the Serbian army” to the territory.
In an analysis published by the Serbian magazine Radar, Velikić challenges the narrative promoted by Belgrade and asks pointedly: “Which army? Which Kosovo?”
He argues that slogans such as “When the army returns to Kosovo,” which have appeared on walls and overpasses across Serbia, create the impression that a Serbian military force is preparing to return to Kosovo.
According to Velikić, however, such messages represent nationalist rhetoric aimed primarily at domestic political consumption rather than a realistic policy.
The writer directly targets Vučić’s repeated declarations that there will be “no surrender” when it comes to Kosovo.
“Of course there is ‘no surrender,’ when you surrendered everything long ago,” Velikić writes, accusing the Serbian president of having spent decades feeding the public with what he describes as “fog, false promises, lies and distortions of the truth.”
Velikić argues that Kosovo has remained one of the central themes used by the Serbian authorities to mobilize nationalist sentiment and maintain political support.
He also points to what he describes as a contradiction between Vučić’s current promises about the eventual return of Serbian forces and the developments that have taken place during his years in power.
In the most critical part of his analysis, Velikić places direct responsibility on Vučić for the withdrawal of Serbian institutions from Kosovo, arguing that this makes the rhetoric about a future “return” even more contradictory.
“Serbia no longer has institutional control in Kosovo, so what does the promise of a ‘return’ actually mean?” he asks.
The columnist maintains that the Kosovo issue is repeatedly used by Serbia’s political leadership to sustain a permanent nationalist atmosphere and divert public attention from domestic problems.
Rather than confronting the political reality surrounding Kosovo, Velikić argues, the public is offered slogans about the army, “never surrendering” and eventually restoring Serbian control.
He portrays Vučić as a politician who continues to cultivate the image of Kosovo’s defender while, in his assessment, developments during his years in power have moved in the opposite direction.
“It is not only his fault — we are also responsible”
Velikić extends his criticism beyond Vučić to Serbia’s political opposition and wider society.
He argues that responsibility does not rest solely with the Serbian president, but also with his political opponents, whom he accuses of failing to build a credible and united alternative.
For Velikić, the repeated calls for the “return of the Serbian army to Kosovo” therefore collide with the political reality on the ground and function primarily as a nationalist political slogan rather than a concrete strategy.
