Russian pro-Kremlin television RT (formerly Russia Today) will open a representative office in Belgrade, Serbian media reported. The station is banned in the European Union due to the spread of propaganda related to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The information about RT's upcoming entry into Serbia was confirmed to Nova.rs by the editor-in-chief of the pro-Kremlin Sputnik Srbija server Ljubinka Milinčić. She added that the Russian station is preparing to enter Serbia, but this does not mean that it will start operating immediately.

In early March, the European Union decided to block the RT station and the Sputnik server throughout its territory due to disinformation content related to the war in Ukraine. Since then, the number of accesses has dropped to a tenth, according to analysis by SimilarWeb.

Serbia is a candidate country for the European Union, but at the same time it cultivates friendly relations with Moscow, and a significant part of Serbs perceives Russia positively. Under the leadership of President Aleksandar Vucic, Serbia has condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine, but has refused to bow to Western pressure to join the anti-Russian sanctions. According to a recent survey by the Demostat research center, more than half of the people in Serbia do not want the Balkan country to harmonize its foreign and security policy with the EU.

RT has long faced criticism for spreading Russian government propaganda and anti-Western disinformation. The state internet server Sputnik, which has a number of language mutations, including Slovak, is perceived similarly.

After the start of the war in Ukraine, Belgrade became a popular destination for Russian emigrants, especially IT professionals. The Russian company Yandex, which operates the Internet search engine of the same name, also opened a representative office in Serbia at the beginning of June. Due to Western sanctions, the company had to close offices in France, Britain and the United States. According to Serbian media reports this week, it opened an office for 700 people in downtown Belgrade.