Everyone is looking in the direction of Ukraine, and Serbia is no exception. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic expressed concern about the decision by Russian President Vladimir Putin to recognise the independence of Donetsk and Luhansk, two provinces in eastern Ukraine controlled by pro-Russian rebels.

Instructing the Serbian military to be on high alert, Vucic said: “There are now many challenges of a political, security and economic nature. Political pressures will be greater than ever. Only in the last three days what I have experienced confirms my words. I have gone through various kinds of pressures, but what I experienced in the previous three days and what follows will simply not be easy at all. … I think that the world order is changing in this way. ... Peace is no longer something that is implicit.“

That same day, Vucic convened a National Security Council meeting to discuss the security implications of Ukraine’s worsening conflict to Serbia. A week before, Serbia urged remaining citizens to leave Ukraine. Its fear that any potential conflict in Ukraine will overspill its border is evident.

The first Ukraine crisis of 2014 was bad news for Belgrade . Serbia found itself in a hotspot, with the West and Russia at loggerheads over Ukraine.