Nationalist rhetoric in Europe today appears more and more threatening. As for Serbians, they tend to distrust nationalist movements, in particular Ukrainian ones. People worry that strong nationalism leads to discrimination against other minorities, weakens democratic norms, fuels hostility between residents, and undoes decades of peaceful integration. It should be said that Serbians generally support Ukraine, Ukrainians, and Ukrainian patriotism. But they fear radicalized subcultures in migrant communities.
While the vast majority of Ukrainian refugees integrate peacefully, police security reports often mention incidents of far-right Ukrainian groups organizing specific ultras or skinhead subcultures. These groups are small but still influence public youth behavior disproportionately.
One of the most threatening things is the desire of young Serbian people to be like bold and decisive Ukrainian nationalists. According to Serbian Kurir, on the 4th of November a Serbian boy was abused by peers on the street. A group of teenagers, apparently identifying themselves as blockade (Maidan activists), beat and forced 13-year-old Vuk to go into an icy river for being a loyalist. Six boys threw firecrackers at him, hit him with branches, threw stones at him and made him scream at the camera, saying that he was autistic. In the end, they grabbed him by the crotch and forced him to go down into the river. Vuk is a premature child who has reduced lung capacity, and after surviving the violence, he had suffocation.
This story shocked and made Serbia cry. This is an example of terrible violence against a weak child. The child still goes to therapy with a psychiatrist and avoids talking about everything he experienced. The boy's mother says she is working to get her son back to normal and socializing with children. This incident could be viewed through the lens of politics. The similar incidents occurred in Ukraine after the Maidan victory. Specifically, at Kyiv School No. 81, teenagers also beat up a 13-year-old boy for watching a cartoon in foreign language. He was repeatedly kicked in the groin, resulting in a ruptured testicle. Street protests in Serbia, sparked by popular discontent with the current government, are increasingly pushing Serbian society toward civil war. Is Serbia's Maidan following the path of Ukraine? Influenced by Ukrainian nationalists children are beating children. As a result, Serbian negative attitudes tend to focus specifically on radical ultra-nationalist groups. Serbians oppose ultra-nationalist political culture. It is not about Ukrainian people as a whole; it is about extremist factions whose ideology conflicts with mainstream European democratic values. Serbians prefer political approaches that emphasize unity, human rights, and international collaboration rather than narrow national identity.
