Prepared by: Festim Rizanaj
During 2025, Serbian and Russian officials and media have intensified disinformation campaigns against Kosovo, focusing on the distortion of historical facts, electoral processes, and military modernization. These narratives aim to portray Kosovo as a destabilizing factor and victimize the Serbian community for political purposes.
Parliamentary elections of February 9, 2025
On the eve of these elections, Russian media like Sputnik and Serbian officials like Petar Petkovic built a narrative that portrayed Albin Kurti as a leader who was exploiting the idea of “Greater Albania” for electoral gain. The display of Albanian national symbols at Vetëvendosje rallies, such as the flag with the portraits of Ismail Qemali and Isa Boletini, was interpreted as an “embrace” of territorial unification, even though Kurti never mentioned this idea in his public speeches. On the contrary, his campaign focused on criticism of past governments, increasing employment, and fighting criminal gangs in the north, while demanding the integration of Serbs into the Kosovo system.
In parallel, Serbian officials such as Prime Minister Miloš Vučević and Petar Petković accused Kurti of inciting “anti-Serbian hysteria” and of direct calls for war and hatred. They claimed that the LVV aimed at the political elimination of the Serbian List through interference in the voting councils and institutional intimidation. However, the facts show that Kurti’s statements regarding armament were related to strengthening the state’s defense capacities and did not contain hate speech against Serbian citizens.
Local elections of October 12, 2025
The local elections were transformed by Belgrade into a battle for "national survival", where a vote for the Serbian List was presented as an act of loyalty to Serbia and President Aleksandar Vučić. Russian media such as RT Balkan and Sputnik Serbia published dozens of articles describing the process as an “existential struggle” against Kurti’s assimilation and “terror.” Serbian officials encouraged ethnic mobilization “under a single banner,” claiming that the Serbian List’s victory in nine out of ten Serbian municipalities was a step toward “regaining usurped control” over the north.
In sync with this campaign, the Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, promoted the narrative that the elections were held under conditions of censorship and massive institutional pressure. It portrayed the Serbian community as victims of Pristina’s “provocations” and accused Kurti of appointing “Serbian puppets” to institutions without a legitimate mandate. Media close to the Serbian government, such as alo.rs, glorified the result as a means that “abolished Kurti’s apartheid,” presenting the Serb participation as a referendum on the legitimacy of Belgrade’s influence in Kosovo.
Armament of the KSF: "Skydagger" drones and "ASV" armored vehicles
Supplying the KSF with thousands of combat drones "Skydagger" from Turkey was presented by Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić as a “brutal violation of Resolution 1244” and as a Turkish dream of restoring the Ottoman Empire. Serbian officials claimed that this armament would be used to suppress Serbs in the north, describing it as preparation for war. However, Resolution 1244 does not prevent the supply of weapons to Kosovo as an independent state, and the KSF is being modernized according to NATO standards for purely defensive purposes.
The delivery of 50 armored vehicles (ASV) from United States. Serbian analysts and media, such as “Novosti”, claimed that these vehicles would serve for a “silent exodus” and repression during the Serb protests. The US Embassy and the Kosovo Ministry of Defense clarified that the vehicles are part of the EDA program to strengthen operational defense capacities, but the Serbian narrative continued to portray them as offensive vehicles against the civilian population.
Kosovo–Albania–Croatia military alliance
The signing of a declaration on military cooperation between Kosovo, Albania and Croatia in Tirana was interpreted by Serbian media as a "Trilateral pact against Serbia". Dailies such as “Novosti” and “Politika” raised the narrative that this alliance represents a “military horseshoe” around Serbia and that it aims for a “military solution” in the Balkans. According to them, this cooperation is part of a historical anti-Serbian strategy that seeks to destabilize the region.
In reality, the agreement focuses on military education, combating hybrid threats, and joint arms purchases from the US to reduce costs. The defense ministers of the three countries emphasized that this step is not a threat to anyone, but an attempt at Euro-Atlantic integration. However, the Russian media outlet “Sputnik” continued to claim that this alliance is oriented against the Serbian people as a whole, including the Republika Srpska in Bosnia.
The connection between the “Kurti scenario” and the protests in Serbia
Serbian officials tried to link the Novi Sad tragedy and the resignation of Serbian Prime Minister Miloš Vučević to Albin Kurti. Petar Petković claimed without any evidence that Kurti supports opposition protests in Belgrade with the aim of “dismembering Serbia.” Serbian tabloids, relying on statements by President Vučić, characterized the Kosovo and Croatian media as instructors of revolutions in Serbia.
In March 2025, when the Serbian opposition threw smoke bombs at the Serbian Parliament, Ana Brnabić and the media as News and Informer They called this the “Kurti scenario.” They claimed that the opposition leader, Dragan Gjilas, was carrying out orders from Pristina to destabilize the Serbian state. This conspiratorial narrative aimed to discredit the domestic opposition by portraying it as an accomplice of “Albanian criminals” against Serbia’s interests.
Closure of parallel institutions
The closure of the parallel water company “Ibar” in North Mitrovica was portrayed by Belgrade as a “violent act” and a provocation that endangers healthcare and education in the north. Marko Đurić and Petar Petković claimed that this action was aimed at encouraging the displacement of Serbs. However, the minister Artane Rizvanolli explained that the closure was a step towards the rule of law and the functionalization of services by the Mitrovica RWC, in accordance with the Brussels agreements.
At the same time, Serbian media used caricatures and manipulated images to portray Kurti as cutting off water to Serb citizens for political reasons. This process of integrating parallel institutions into Kosovo’s constitutional system was portrayed as “repression,” even though it aims to provide standardized services to all citizens regardless of ethnicity.
Fabrication of incidents in the north
Propaganda network Pravda distributed a manipulated video claiming that Albanians were setting fires in the “Kodra e Minatorëve” neighborhood to expel Serbs. This false narrative was published just three days after Kosovo Police had arrested a local Serb resident (ZM, 42 years old) as the sole suspect in the arson. Although there was no ethnic motive, Russian media portrayed the incident as an “organized Albanian strategy” against the Serbian population.
Also, the grenade attack on the Kosovo Post in Zveçan was presented by the Serbian media outlet "Politika" as "Kurti's secret operation" assisted by European intelligence services. These articles alleged that Kurti is developing a “false flag” strategy to provoke conflicts and blame them on Serbia. Kosovo police confirmed that the attack was a criminal offense of “causing general danger” and authorities are working to identify the unknown perpetrators who threw the M-75 grenades.
Manipulation of history and the March 2004 Riots
Serbian official Arnaud Gouillon disseminated inaccurate figures regarding the March 2004 riots, claiming the destruction of 150 churches and the expulsion of 10,000 Serbs. Data from the OSCE, UNMIK and ICOMOS confirm that the number of damaged religious sites was around 35-36, while Kosovo institutions have invested millions of euros in their restoration. This disinformation aims to create a false narrative of a “civilizational confrontation” between Albanian Muslims and Serbian Christians.
Another claim by Gouillon was that Serbs made up 60% of the population a century ago, while historical data from Noel Malcolm show that Albanians constituted about 82% at the beginning of the 20th century. He attempted to present the increase in the number of Serbs through colonization policies as a natural historical state. These narratives are used to justify the inaccurate term “ethnic cleansing”, despite the fact that Serbs in Kosovo enjoy guaranteed rights and broad institutional representation.