Dozens of people were detained in Belgrade at the largest protest rally against Vuchich over the past months

On Saturday, June 28, a large rally was held in Belgrade, which grew into clashes with the police, against the President of Serbia Alexander Vucic. According to independent observers, up to 140 thousand people took part in it.

How tells The Insider, the protesters demanded early elections. The rally participants, among whom were many students, accused the authorities of corruption and incompetence. After the end of the action, clashes with the police began, dozens of participants were detained.

The action became the culmination of the eight -month campaign, which is headed by students. It began after collapse of a concrete canopy At the new railway station on November 1, 2024 – 16 people were killed on that day. The cause of the tragedy is considered negligence and corruption in infrastructure projects, and the responsibility is imposed on the contractors close to the authorities. One of the participants in the rally announced:

“Today, June 28, 2025, we declare the current power of illegitimate.”

After the rally, the demonstrators tried to go to the park next to the residence of Vucich, where since March there is a tent camp of his supporters. The police cordoned off the area, clashes began.

According to the Ministry of the Interior, six police officers were injured, the number of victims among demonstrators is not specified. The police said that she applied the force “to restore order” and that the detainees were “hooligans who attacked the police”. The AP agency reports that some protesters were masked and used street objects to protect against the police, but these actions were not recorded in available photographs.

President Alexander Vuchich reacted to events by writing on Instagram:

“Serbia always wins.”

On the same day, he demonstrated that he controls the situation by holding the Gosnaggrad ceremony in Belgrade and saying that parliamentary elections in the country were scheduled for 2027. The requirements of demonstrators about early voting are ignored.

Recall: although formally Vuchich declares a course on European integration, his actions over and over again are increasingly conflicting with the position of the European Union. In May, he flew to Moscow for the celebration of Victory Day, despite the direct warning of the European Commission about the possible consequences for negotiations on the entry of Serbia into the Union. In Moscow, Vuchich met with Vladimir Putin and probably discussed gas supply and American sanctions against NIS, more than half belonging to Gazprom.

The previous large rally in Belgrade was held on March 15, 2025 under the slogan “15 for 15”-according to the number of people who died in the collapsed canopy at the station in Novi-Sad. According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, 107 thousand people took part in it, but independent media called this action the largest in the modern history of the country.

Despite the rain, the crowd then filled the city center, and the protesters fell silent for 15 minutes in memory of the dead. The action was organized by students who have been heading the anti -corruption movement since November. Soon after the start of the rally, they interrupted him due to the “threat of security”, but thousands of people remained on the streets.

Vuchich’s urgent appeal to the nation against the background of protests in Serbia:

The night before, Vuchich said that “he will not accept any ultimatums” and the elections will be held only in 2026. Today, he is probably trying to maintain control over the situation, but street pressure is growing. The president said: “There will be no amnesty!”

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