Hill on the Launch of RT Balkan Television: Russia’s Attempts to Disrupt Serbia's EU Integration to Fail

Christopher Hill (BETAPHOTO/MILAN OBRADOVIC)

The U.S. ambassador to Belgrade, Christopher Hill, said on Dec. 30 that Russia was taking "increasingly desperate" measures to spread propaganda and misinformation in the Balkans, confident that Moscow will not succeed in disrupting Serbia's integration into the European Union (EU).

"As Russia’s influence in the region weakens, I am not surprised that they are taking increasingly desperate measures to spread their propaganda and misinformation in the Balkans. I believe their attempts to disrupt Serbia's full European integration will fail," Hill said in a statement to BETA regarding the launch of RT Balkan television in Serbia.

RT Balkan, a branch of the Russian state media outlet RT, began broadcasting on Dec. 27 using the channels and services of the state-owned company Telekom Srbija. The media outlet has been present in Serbia since November 2022, when it launched its online portal.

The international non-governmental organization Reporters Without Borders appealed in early October to the EU and its member states to hold Serbia accountable for enabling the operations of the Russian state media outlet RT, which the organization warned was spreading Kremlin propaganda in the Balkans. The authorities in Serbia have pointed out that allowing RT Balkan to operate demonstrates that Serbia is an "oasis of media freedom."