Kosovo Removes 4-Year Free Ukraine Banner as Zelenskyy Reaffirms Non-Recognition
Updated
Updated · Kyiv Independent · Aug 9
Kosovo Removes 4-Year Free Ukraine Banner as Zelenskyy Reaffirms Non-Recognition
3 articles · Updated · Kyiv Independent · Aug 9
Summary
Pristina took down a giant “Free Ukraine” banner from the Grand Hotel after Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Kyiv’s position on Kosovo’s independence remains unchanged.
The blue-and-yellow display had hung in central Pristina for more than four years and became one of Kosovo’s most visible symbols of support after Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The removal deepens a diplomatic chill that surfaced a day earlier, when Pristina Mayor Përparim Rama ordered a Ukrainian flag removed, saying Kosovo’s statehood must be respected.
Zelenskyy’s reaffirmation of non-recognition has sharpened tension between a country that strongly backed Ukraine and a government in Kyiv that still does not recognize Kosovo’s independence.