Latest news with #WesternBalkans
Reuters
6 hours ago
- Climate
- Reuters
Drought stalks Serbia, harming livestock
SUVA PLANINA, Serbia, Aug 12 (Reuters) - A prolonged drought and sweltering heat are taking their toll on villagers, livestock and crops in the mountains of southeastern Serbia, with animals starting to die. Lack of rainfall since May has caused water shortages, wildfires and disruption to agriculture across the Western Balkans, also comprised of Montenegro, Bosnia, Albania, Kosovo and North Macedonia, At Serbia's Suva Planina (Dry Mountain), owners who take their cows and horses for summer grazing said the springs dried up too early this year. "There's not a drop of water ... animals are starting to die," said Ljubisa Petkovic, a herder from the nearby municipality of Gadzin Han. Around 1,000 thirsty cows and horses milled round a few watering holes and springs, sipping sparse and dirty water from puddles. Temperatures in Serbia on Tuesday stood at around 35 degrees Celsius (95 Fahrenheit) with several wildfires burning. In late July, local authorities, alerted by cattle owners, drove water trucks up the Suva Planina pastures, filled a pond, and pledged to send more. Nikola Manojlovic, 35, said he hoped for more state water supplies and warned that villages in the valley were also suffering from the drought. "Corn has dried up ... we've had no running water in the village for three months now and we have no water here," Manojlovic said. Meteorologists say Serbia may have a spell of rainy weather later this month, but it may not be enough to replenish the small rivers, lakes and creeks needed for the cattle to drink.
Washington Post
20-07-2025
- Climate
- Washington Post
Water tanks replace springs on a Serbian mountain as drought endangers some 1,000 cows and horses
SUVA PLANINA, Serbia — A severe drought this summer has left over 1,000 cows and horses without water on a mountain in southeast Serbia , forcing the authorities to bring up emergency supplies. The early drought that started in May has affected people, animals and crops throughout the Western Balkans , causing water and power restrictions, disruptions in river traffic and problems in agriculture in this part of southeast Europe.
The Independent
20-07-2025
- Climate
- The Independent
Water tanks replace springs on a Serbian mountain as drought endangers some 1,000 cows and horses
A severe drought this summer has left over 1,000 cows and horses without water on a mountain in southeast Serbia, forcing the authorities to bring up emergency supplies. The early drought that started in May has affected people, animals and crops throughout the Western Balkans, causing water and power restrictions, disruptions in river traffic and problems in agriculture in this part of southeast Europe. At Suva Planina, Serbian for Dry Mountain, cattle owners said they can't remember the springs ever drying up before mid-August. Lack of water has sent the cattle roaming down the mountain in panic, they said. 'We haven't had any rain on the mountain since May 27,' lamented Nikola Manojlovic, from the nearby village of Mali Krcimir. Suva Planina is located about 250 kilometers (155 miles) from Serbia's capital, Belgrade. The drought has left visible consequences on a plateau at the altitude of some 1,200 meters (nearly 4,000 feet) — cracked ground has replaced the main water spring, along with dry, yellow grass and dust. 'We tried to dig new wells but everything has dried up,' he said. 'It was horrible, our cattle had no water for three days, they were screaming." Alarmed, authorities drove up water trucks on Thursday, and workers used hoses to fill up a pond from the tanks for the thirsty animals. The Ministry of Agriculture said it will keep sending supplies in the coming weeks. 'We are out of imminent danger,' local municipal chief Milisav Filipovic said after the water trucks drove up the mountain. He warned that the situation remains just as bad down the mountain, in villages that have faced restrictions in water supplies for weeks now. 'Our farmers don't recall such a bad and hard year,' Filipovic said. ' People here mostly do farming and use products for own needs, for their existence. This year has brought unseen hardship for them." While a spell of rainy weather in July brought some relief, farmers say that the land is too dry deep below the surface to recover easily. Scores of small rivers, lakes and creeks that are normally used in Serbia's rural areas have dried up. In neighboring Bosnia, meteorologists have said that June this year could end up being the driest in recent history, causing huge damage in agriculture. In eastern Croatia, authorities declared emergency measures in several municipalities along the border with Hungary to deal with the effects of the drought. The country's vegetable growers have warned many could go out of business. Earlier in July, both Albania and Kosovo reported water shortages that affected also electricity production in Albania. Serbia's farmers have asked for financial help from the government, fearing poor yield, which could spike prices. Irrigation systems in the country are underdeveloped, leaving many farmers dependent on the weather. Jovica Jaksic, of the Independent Farmers' Association told the state RTS television that the damage to the corn is so big already that even if it rained for the rest of the summer, it wouldn't help. Scientists warn that climate change is exacerbating the frequency and intensity of heat and dryness in parts of Europe, making the region more vulnerable to health impacts and wildfires. The EU monitoring agency found that, in Europe and globally, 2024 was the hottest year on record and the continent experienced its second-highest number of 'heat stress' days. In Serbia's northern neighbor Hungary, weather-damaged crops have dealt significant blows to the country's overall GDP. This has prompted Prime Minister Viktor Orbán to announce the creation of a 'drought task force' to deal with the problem. Persistent droughts in the Great Hungarian Plain, in the country's southeast, have threatened desertification, a process where vegetation recedes due to high heat and low rainfall. The soil remains 'critically dry,' the country's meteorological service said on Thursday, warning of the negative effects on the crops. A new heat wave is expected in the Western Balkans in the coming days. ___
Associated Press
20-07-2025
- Climate
- Associated Press
Water tanks replace springs on a Serbian mountain as drought endangers some 1,000 cows and horses
SUVA PLANINA, Serbia (AP) — A severe drought this summer has left over 1,000 cows and horses without water on a mountain in southeast Serbia, forcing the authorities to bring up emergency supplies. The early drought that started in May has affected people, animals and crops throughout the Western Balkans, causing water and power restrictions, disruptions in river traffic and problems in agriculture in this part of southeast Europe. At Suva Planina, Serbian for Dry Mountain, cattle owners said they can't remember the springs ever drying up before mid-August. Lack of water has sent the cattle roaming down the mountain in panic, they said. 'We haven't had any rain on the mountain since May 27,' lamented Nikola Manojlovic, from the nearby village of Mali Krcimir. Suva Planina is located about 250 kilometers (155 miles) from Serbia's capital, Belgrade. The drought has left visible consequences on a plateau at the altitude of some 1,200 meters (nearly 4,000 feet) — cracked ground has replaced the main water spring, along with dry, yellow grass and dust. 'We tried to dig new wells but everything has dried up,' he said. 'It was horrible, our cattle had no water for three days, they were screaming.' Alarmed, authorities drove up water trucks on Thursday, and workers used hoses to fill up a pond from the tanks for the thirsty animals. The Ministry of Agriculture said it will keep sending supplies in the coming weeks. 'We are out of imminent danger,' local municipal chief Milisav Filipovic said after the water trucks drove up the mountain. He warned that the situation remains just as bad down the mountain, in villages that have faced restrictions in water supplies for weeks now. 'Our farmers don't recall such a bad and hard year,' Filipovic said. 'People here mostly do farming and use products for own needs, for their existence. This year has brought unseen hardship for them.' While a spell of rainy weather in July brought some relief, farmers say that the land is too dry deep below the surface to recover easily. Scores of small rivers, lakes and creeks that are normally used in Serbia's rural areas have dried up. In neighboring Bosnia, meteorologists have said that June this year could end up being the driest in recent history, causing huge damage in agriculture. In eastern Croatia, authorities declared emergency measures in several municipalities along the border with Hungary to deal with the effects of the drought. The country's vegetable growers have warned many could go out of business. Earlier in July, both Albania and Kosovo reported water shortages that affected also electricity production in Albania. Serbia's farmers have asked for financial help from the government, fearing poor yield, which could spike prices. Irrigation systems in the country are underdeveloped, leaving many farmers dependent on the weather. Jovica Jaksic, of the Independent Farmers' Association told the state RTS television that the damage to the corn is so big already that even if it rained for the rest of the summer, it wouldn't help. Scientists warn that climate change is exacerbating the frequency and intensity of heat and dryness in parts of Europe, making the region more vulnerable to health impacts and wildfires. The EU monitoring agency found that, in Europe and globally, 2024 was the hottest year on record and the continent experienced its second-highest number of 'heat stress' days. In Serbia's northern neighbor Hungary, weather-damaged crops have dealt significant blows to the country's overall GDP. This has prompted Prime Minister Viktor Orbán to announce the creation of a 'drought task force' to deal with the problem. Persistent droughts in the Great Hungarian Plain, in the country's southeast, have threatened desertification, a process where vegetation recedes due to high heat and low rainfall. The soil remains 'critically dry,' the country's meteorological service said on Thursday, warning of the negative effects on the crops. A new heat wave is expected in the Western Balkans in the coming days. ___ Associated Press writer Justin Spike in Budapest, Hungary, contributed to this report.
Telegraph
17-07-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Moldova is the next front in Russia's assault on the West
As the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine continues into a third year, Vladimir Putin has set his sights on new frontiers where he can further sow destabilisation. Amongst his new targets are Moldova, Georgia and the Western Balkans, where Moscow is fomenting chaos in the hopes of diverting Western attention from the atrocities Russia is committing in Ukraine. Putin can accomplish his security objectives here not through open conflict but by fuelling separatist movements and influence operations. On Monday, Russia's foreign intelligence agency accused Nato of making Moldova a 'forward base' and of 'preparing to draw Moldova into ... armed conflict with Russia.' Russian media, meanwhile, spreads outlandish claims that Moldova is riddled with Western intelligence services and that 'MI6 is taking control of the Moldovan elections.' Moscow has also claimed Moldovan intelligence is cooperating with Ukraine to sabotage Russia. According to this idea, the West is using Moldova as a weapon against Russia, escalating tensions there and driving the country towards the same fate as Ukraine. In psychology, this is called projection. It is Russia that is propagating chaos in Moldova's upcoming elections. Russia wants to show that the West, particularly Europe, will not respond out of fear of escalations and will not support Moldova's turn towards Europe. Moldova, a small country in Europe that was once a Soviet Republic, has been subject to severe Russian pressure before. Russian 'peacekeepers' are located in Transnistria, an internationally unrecognised, pro-Russian breakaway region. Beyond blunt military force, Russia has a variety of other means to influence Moldovan politics. During the 2024 presidential election campaign, Ilan Shor, a pro-Kremlin Moldovan oligarch, allegedly organised a $39 million vote-buying scheme through which over 138,000 Moldovans reportedly received money. More subtly, Russia can take advantage of the fact that Moldova is home to a large Russian-speaking population, as well as the autonomous region of Gagauzia, which is at odds with the central government in Moldova's capital Chisinau. The outcome of elections on September 28th could determine Moldova's future policy towards the EU. Moldova is not the only place where Russia has intensified its hybrid warfare: Moscow has employed the same playbook in the Western Balkans. The Balkans' most explosive tinderbox is Bosnia and Herzegovina. This year marks the 30 th anniversary of the Dayton peace agreement that ended the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina. However, the country is still wracked by divisions between Bosniak, Serb, and Croat communities, and Russia has exploited these ethnic divisions to its advantage. The Dayton agreement is in jeopardy, with Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik, another Russian ally, threatening Republika Srpska's secession from the country. Russia has been trying to prove that Nato is a paper tiger unable to provide security in the Western Balkans. Russia's goal in the Balkans is to position itself as the region's only reliable conflict negotiator. This game plan accomplishes two goals: strengthening Moscow's standing in the region; and giving Putin leverage over Western powers. Putin aims to keep Georgia, too, under his thumb. According to the US defence intelligence agency: 'Russia almost certainly aims to return Georgia to its sphere of influence. Since the parliamentary elections in October, the Georgian Dream-led government has created an environment that enables Russia to increase its influence in the country.' The country's ruling populist party, Georgian Dream, has aligned with Moscow and spread fears that without them there will be war with Russia. According to former Georgian defence minister Vasil Sikharulidze, the Kremlin's hybrid strategy fuses economic coercion, political manipulation, and information warfare. In Georgia, Russia also supports separatist narratives in Abkhazia, a breakaway region of Georgia that Russian forces have occupied since the 2008 Russo-Georgian war. The Georgian Dream party's decision to suspend EU accession negotiations until 2028 has fuelled massive protests across Georgia. Predictably, Russia's foreign intelligence service accused Washington of plotting a 'colour revolution.' The Georgian Dream government follows Russia's lead in other ways, too. Tbilisi's legislation governing the transparency of foreign influence is a copy of Russia's infamous 'foreign agent' legislation, which Putin uses to stifle free speech in Russian civil society. Make no mistake: Putin will increasingly resort to asymmetric means of challenging and distracting the West by sowing chaos in Moldova, Georgia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. In response, London should lead a coalition of willing states to counter Russia's hybrid war and conduct information operation campaigns, combating Russian influence and putting Moscow on the defensive. Now is the time for Britain and allied countries to show the world that Russia is an empty shell.
