Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has welcomed the Student List's victory in Serbia's parliamentary elections, describing it as a new chapter in the country's history, and expressed Ukraine's readiness to expand cooperation with Serbia.
"Changes have taken place in Serbia – the victory of the Student List, and this is clearly a new page in the history of the country and its people," Zelenskyy wrote on X on Monday.
He wished Serbia success, genuine development and warm relations with the European community.
"We in Ukraine thank Serbia for its respect for our people and state, our independence. And we always rejoice in our shared achievements – everything that strengthens our societies and adds opportunities for people. We are ready to continue expanding our cooperation, and may all the good hopes of the people in Serbia be realized," the president said.
On 25 October, Aleksandar Vučić, leader of the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) and candidate for prime minister, acknowledged his party's defeat in Sunday's snap parliamentary elections to the opposition student protest movement, Reuters reported.
"We do not yet have the final results, but based on the sample... it is clear that we have lost these elections. The Student List has won: they will have between 135 and 140 seats, while we will have 105. No other party has entered parliament," Vučić told journalists.
The snap elections were called by Vučić in September following almost two years of continuous student protests against corruption and the government's increasingly authoritarian policies.
The demonstrations erupted after a tragedy in the city of Novi Sad in 2024, when the collapse of a canopy at the railway station killed 16 people.
The student movement gained widespread public support and became the greatest political challenge Vučić has faced since coming to power as prime minister in 2014 and subsequently being elected president in 2017.
