Albanian Language Media: 

• Reactions to closure of Serbian-funded offices in Kosovo (media)
• Krasniqi: Serbia’s parallel criminal institutions in Kosovo are now closed (media)
• Basic Prosecution in Pristina says it didn’t authorize the controls (media)
• Haxhiu: Scandalous statement by the Basic Prosecution in Pristina (media)
• Hoti blames Petkovic for failure of missing persons commission meeting (media)
• Maqedonci: Kosovo will be safer with helicopters flying above its skies (media)
• PSD’s Nushi stopped at Kosovo-North Macedonia border, then released (media)

Serbian Language Media:

• Kosovo’s closure of Serbian institutions: Escalating tensions and impact (KoSSev)
• Vucic: Pristina's terror evident, Kosovo Serbs will not be left without income (Tanjug, media)
• Petkovic: Latest closure of Serbian institutions shows Kurti wants no dialogue (media)
• Serbian List: Employees will receive salaries, and their existence will not be threatened (KiM radio, Kosovo Online, Radio Mitrovica sever)
• Arsenijevic: Kurti would not have been able to do so if SL had fought with us; Self-Determination filed a complaint against S. Democracy (KoSSev)
• Prosecutor's Office in Gnjilane: We did not receive an official request from the police for today's action (Kosovo Online)
• The Pristina Prosecutor's Office did not approve the search of Serbian institutions (alternativna.com)
• Ministry of Culture of Serbia on opening of museum in Pristina dedicated to victims of sexual violence (Kosovo Online, RTS, Tanjug)
• Five Serbs from the Kosovo Morava region denied accusations of war crimes (RTS)
• Filipovic: The proceedings against Milos Pleskovic are staged (KiM radio)

Albanian Language Media 

Reactions to closure of Serbian-funded offices in Kosovo (media)

The United States Embassy in Pristina said in a statement on Wednesday that “the Government of Kosovo’s continuing, uncoordinated actions to close Serbia-supported institutions directly and negatively impact Kosovo citizens – ethnic Serbs and other communities – and undermine Kosovo’s aspirations to join the Euro-Atlantic community.  These matters should be managed through the EU-facilitated Dialogue in order to advance Kosovo’s normalization and integration as a modern, multiethnic, European democracy and protect the well-being of its citizens. For over 25 years, the United States has invested heavily in Kosovo, working in partnership with its leaders to realize our shared long-term interests.  These uncoordinated actions, against our best advice, weaken trust in the relationship and constrain our ability to help Kosovo secure the best and brightest future for all its people”.

The European Union’s External Action Service said in a statement that “Kosovo’s recent actions against and closure of Serbia-supported structures, conducted in the midst of the election campaign for the 9 February parliamentary elections, go against its obligations towards the European Union under the normalisation process. EULEX is monitoring the conduct of these recent actions in accordance with its mandate. The status of Serbia-supported structures is foreseen to be resolved through the EU-facilitated Dialogue. Kosovo must demonstrate and remain consistent with its obligations under the EU-facilitated Dialogue and its recent recommitment to it.  While, as stated in the 2024 Council conclusions on enlargement, the EU will gradually lift the measures vis-à-vis Kosovo in parallel with further steps by Kosovo to de-escalate the tensions in the north, these actions are not conducive to this goal”.

German Ambassador to Kosovo, Jorn Rohde, supported the European Union statement rebuking the Kosovo government for today's closure of several offices of Serbian parallel structures, implying that such actions mean that sanctions against Kosovo remain in force. “Full support for the EU statement. And let me be clear: we agree in principle that such parallel structures must be terminated. But the path to this must be comprehensive. With actions like today, you do not win the hearts and minds of the affected people," Rohde wrote on BluSky platform.

The Italian Embassy in Pristina supported the European Union's statement on the closure of parallel structures today, calling it a worrying action. "Italy fully supports the EU statement below", the Italian embassy's post reads. While the EU's reaction states that the measures against Kosovo will be gradually lifted in line with its steps to reduce tensions in the north, Kosovo's recent actions "are not conducive to this goal".

The United Kingdom expressed serious concern about today's actions of the Kosovo government towards parallel structures run by Serbs in Kosovo. In a statement issued by its embassy in Pristina, it mentions its continued calls for the government led by Albin Kurti, for constructive engagement through dialogue. “The UK is concerned by today’s actions on Serbian run parallel structures across Kosovo. We have urged the Government of Kosovo to ensure that these actions are carried out in line with its own legal framework, but also that they take into account the fact that many ordinary Kosovo Serbs, including the most vulnerable, continue to rely on these institutions for services. Constructive engagement, by the governments of both Serbia and Kosovo, through the EU-facilitated Dialogue, including full implementation of the Brussels Agreements, and the establishment of the ASMM, is the best way to address these issues,” the statement notes.

Kosovo Ambassador in Brussels, Agron Bajrami, said in a post on X: "for clarification: there are no Serbia supported structures in Kosova; these were Serbia-run illegal structures; there’s no agreement stipulating negotiations over future of these structures; today’s Kosova Police operation didn’t cause any tensions”.

Krasniqi: Serbia’s parallel criminal institutions in Kosovo are now closed (media)

Kosovo’s Minister for Local Government, Elbert Krasniqi, said in a Facebook post on Wednesday that discussions on Serbia’s institutions in Kosovo should not be about why they were closed today but rather why they were open until today. “Serbia’s parallel criminal institutions in Kosovo are now closed. Parallel municipalities, parallel postal offices, parallel tax administrations. The citizens of Kosovo have the municipalities of Kosovo, the Post of Kosovo and the Tax Administration of Kosovo, as well as all other institutions based on the Constitution of Kosovo and the legislation in force. Discussions about Serbia’s institutions in Kosovo should not be about why they were closed today but rather why they were open until today,” Krasniqi argued.

Basic Prosecution in Pristina says it didn’t authorize the controls (media)

The Basic Prosecution in Pristina said in a statement that the state prosecutor did not authorize the controls or raids in the several locations suspected as parallel structures, “because there was no official written request to carry out this operation by the respective institutions and there was no evidence presented to the state prosecutor to create reasonable doubt that a criminal offence was being committed that would fall under the competency of the Basic Prosecution in Pristina”. 

The statement also notes that “the state prosecutor is ready and committed to prosecute criminal offences and their perpetrators always based on the legislation in force, and based on the principle of equality and non-discrimination for all citizens of the Republic of Kosovo”.

Haxhiu: Scandalous statement by the Basic Prosecution in Pristina (media)

Kosovo’s Minister of Justice, Albulena Haxhiu, reacted to a statement issued by the Basic Prosecution in Pristina which notes that it did not authorize the police operations against the Serbian-funded offices in Kosovo. “What a scandalous statement by the Basic Prosecution in Pristina. Instead of acting many years ago and closing the offices of illegal structures, they issue statements against the legitimate and rightful actions of the police. Does anyone understand these state officials called prosecutors? Who do they serve?” Haxhiu said in a Facebook post.

Hoti blames Petkovic for failure of missing persons commission meeting (media) 

Chairman of Kosovo government’s committee for missing persons, Andin Hoti, accused Serbia on Wednesday for lack of readiness to cooperate on the issue of missing persons, after Serbian chief negotiator Petar Petkovic walked out of the first meeting of the joint commission for missing persons facilitated by the European Union. Petkovic said he left the meeting because of the Kosovo Police operation that closed Serbian-funded institutions and municipal offices in Kosovo. 

But Hoti said Serbia’s excuse has nothing to do with the topic of the meeting in Brussels. “Serbia’s excuse to not participate in the meeting is not only banal but also detrimental to the process of resolving the fate of missing persons, and it has nothing to do with the topic of the meeting in Brussels today. This proves yet again Serbia’s lack of readiness to cooperate on this important matter. This shows again that Serbia extremely politicizes the issue of missing persons,” he said.

Hoti also said that he did not understand why Petkovic was at the meeting and accused him of orchestrating the failure of the meeting. 

Maqedonci: Kosovo will be safer with helicopters flying above its skies (media)

Kosovo’s Minister of Defense, Ejup Maqedonci, said in a Facebook post on Wednesday that at the end of his visit to the U.S. he visited the “Sikorsky – Lockheed Martin” factory “which produces different helicopters, including Black Hawk helicopters, which we will have in the aerial support fleet of the Kosovo Army”. “Together with General Bashkim Jashari and Ambassador Blerim Reka, head of mission at Kosovo’s General Consulate in New York, we met the management of the company and discussed options to include helicopters in the inventory of the Kosovo Security Force. Kosovo will be safe with helicopters flying above its skies,” he said.

PSD’s Nushi stopped at Kosovo-North Macedonia border, then released (media)

The Secretary General of the Social Democratic Party of Kosovo (PSD) was stopped by Kosovo Police at the border with North Macedonia on Wednesday and released two hours later. Nushi said in a Facebook post after his release that he was stopped because of an offence in 2016 when he was an activist of the Vetevendosje Movement. “I was stopped for an offence in 2016 as a VV activist. What I understood is that these stoppings are only for PSD activists. There was no case when they stopped anyone from VV, although our activities were joint,” he wrote. 

Serbian Language Media  

Kosovo’s closure of Serbian institutions: Escalating tensions and impact (KoSSev)

Kosovo’s recent actions to shut down Serbia-supported institutions have drawn sharp criticism from both local and international actors, who warn that these uncoordinated measures undermine the stability of the region and Kosovo’s aspirations for Euro-Atlantic integration. The closures, which coincide with Kosovo’s parliamentary election campaign scheduled for February 9, have sparked tensions between Kosovo’s government and its Serb population, as well as drawn rebukes from the international community.

The closures, which included today 10 provisional municipal offices and several branches of the Serbian Post in southern areas from the Ibar River, such as Lipljan, Obilic, Pristina, Kosovo Polje, and Vucitrn, are seen as part of a larger trend that began years ago. Many of these institutions were relocated to Serb-majority areas after losing control of their original premises, operating in exile. Kosovo’s Interior Minister, Xhelal Sveçla, defended the actions, describing them as a necessary step toward ending Serbia’s „parallel municipalities and criminal institutions“ in Kosovo.

The latest wave of closures follows a broader pattern of actions taken by Kosovo authorities over the past several years. Starting in 2022, Kosovo began taking control of municipal properties, including in Strpce, and by mid-2023, efforts to dismantle Serbian institutions in northern Kosovo gained significant momentum. By 2024, the closures expanded to include key services such as banks, treasury offices, urban planning directorates, and public utilities. In December 2024, urban planning and housing directorates in North Mitrovica were shut down, further intensifying the strain between Kosovo and its Serb population.

Read more at:https://tinyurl.com/38pemz4m

Vucic: Pristina's terror evident, Kosovo Serbs will not be left without income (Tanjug, media)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Wednesday that employees of Serbian institutions closed by Pristina would not be left without jobs or income and noted that the terror by Pristina's PM Albin Kurti was evident in Kosovo.

Asked about the fate of 1,100 people who have lost their jobs as a result, Vucic said Serbia would not let those people be left without income.

"That is an important fact, to tell people living in central Serbia that those people have not lost their income, and the terror is evident, yes," Vucic said in an appearance on B92 TV.

"We waited for a reaction from the European Union for a long time," Vucic said, noting that, for the first time, the EU had released a statement that did not refer to "both parties".

"That is the first statement by Ms (Kaja) Kallas and the Estonians. By the way, the behaviour of EULEX on the ground and everything that is going on seems very strange to me," Vucic said.

Asked to comment on a statement that said Pristina's police raid on Serbian institutions in the province had been carried out without authorisation from prosecutors, Vucic responded:

"That way, they just wanted to tell you that it was not foreigners who gave a direct order but that it was Kurti's decision. He is exhibiting nervousness, and that is not a result of great power and strength, but of increasing powerlessness and fear of the changes to come. Changes in the world are inevitable, they will be tectonic, they will be huge," Vucic said.

He also said two more countries were expected to derecognize Kosovo.

"We are just waiting to see how and when to announce the names of two more countries that will derecognize it," he said.

"There are more countries we are talking to, but there may be a country that will recognize it for the first time," he added.

"But we will fight there, too, to oppose that, because a change of leadership has taken place there," Vucic said.

Petkovic: Latest closure of Serbian institutions shows Kurti wants no dialogue (media)

Director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija Petar Petkovic said on Wednesday the latest closure of Serbian institutions in Kosovo by Pristina showed that its PM Albin Kurti wanted no dialogue, but violence and a direct crackdown on Serbs in Kosovo. 

Petkovic said from Brussels, where a Belgrade-Pristina commission on missing persons was due to meet for the first time yesterday, that Serbia will continue to pay all entitlements to employees of the institutions closed by Pristina. Media recalled that Pekovic walked out of discussions over the latest wave of Pristina's actions against the Kosovo Serbs.

According to Petkovic, around 35 Serbian institutions had been closed for the time being, including provisional authorities, municipalities, social work centres and Post of Serbia offices.

"By today's unlawful action alone, Kurti has literally left 1,100 people without jobs," Petkovic said, noting that Kurti had denied them the right to work.

Petkovic also announced on X social network that he spoke in Brussels with the Director General of the EC Directorate General for Neighborhood and Enlargement Negotiations, Gert Jan Koopman, about today's incursion of the Kosovo Police into Serbian institutions.

Serbian List: Employees will receive salaries, and their existence will not be threatened (KiM radio, Kosovo Online, Radio Mitrovica sever)

After consultations with the state of Serbia and the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, as stated by the president of the Serbian List Zlatan Elek, all employees will continue to receive their salaries and income, and their existence will not be threatened.

''The SL will continue to fight even harder with all political means in this dirty election campaign and will win, so that we have the opportunity to protect the Serbian people. In this campaign, Kurti is trying to close down Serbian institutions, the Serbian people, and the Serbian List," said the president of the Serbian List, Zlatan Elek. He added that tomorrow he will "continue consultations with the state of Serbia", as well as that he will meet with the director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, Petar Petkovic, upon his return from Brussels.

Elek also said that he would contact all international missions and embassies regarding this, as he stated, "unprecedented institutional and physical terror".

"Perhaps they can temporarily close the buildings, but they cannot prevent the help of the Serbian state, nor can they prevent the Serbian List from taking care of its people and participating in the elections. We are living in a time of unprecedented terror, and we will behave that way. Now is the time to be united, solid, wise, and smart and to fight terror even more strongly in the upcoming elections. He wants to prevent the SL from participating in the elections," said Elek.

The president of the Serbian List said that the PM of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, has nothing to offer his voters except a policy of violence and terror against the Serbian people.

"He wants to expel the Serbian people, to accuse the state of Serbia and the Orthodox Church. I know that this is a difficult day for the Serbian people, both south and north of the Ibar. This is the best proof of the complete impotence of Albin Kurti's politics," said Elek.

The president of the PA of the Vucitrn municipality, Milan Kostic, stated that 60 workers work in this institution.

Milan Joksimovic, president of the PA Lipljan municipality, stated that the Kosovo police held him and three other workers for four hours without any questioning.

"Just like in other institutions of the Republic of Serbia, today the police raided Lipljan with several inspectors without any warrant. They kept me and three other employees for four hours without any reason, without special interrogation, just some kind of coercion. The municipality of Lipljan served 10,000 citizens in our territory, those people will not be left without services, they will not be left without social benefits. There are 150 employees in the municipality of Lipljan, I am telling them now that they will not be left without salaries", said Joksimovic.

The vice-president of the Serbian List, Igor Simic, stated that he will have more information on specific steps today after the conversation with the director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija.

He also repeated that the employees of these institutions will not be left without incomes, people without services or privileges, assistance provided by Serbia in these areas. 

Arsenijevic: Kurti would not have been able to do so if SL had fought with us; Self-Determination filed a complaint against S. Democracy (KoSSev)

''Everything would have been different if we had the power like the Serbian List. Imagine that, when they came to close the Post Office of Serbia, if there were 5,000 Serbs instead of about 20 of us, do you think they would have dared to do something like that? If citizens were told - 'people, feel free to go out', we would not have this situation,'' said the leader of Serbian Democracy, Aleksandar Arsenijevic, at the press conference last night. He defined the new actions of closing Serbian institutions as a "violation of all human rights" and "terror."

Arsenijevic also announced that the party of Albin Kurti, Self-Determination, filed a complaint against him, claiming that he allegedly obstructed the campaign of this party on January 12, when the Prime Minister of Kosovo was in the North. He claims that the complaint is unfounded, and that Self-Determination allegedly wants to disqualify Serbian Democracy and throw it out of the election race, reported KoSSev.

Arsenijevic criticized the Kosovo Minister for Communities and Return, Nenad Rasic, the Serbian List, as well as the international community.

"Now there is no justification for (Minister of Communities and Return, Nenad) Rasic or anyone in that government - 'I am alone, what can I do.' He can do enough," he said.

Commenting on both the new and previous closures of Serbian institutions, Arsenijevic criticized the Serbian List, stating that this party "must change".

"If they had stood up and democratically fought together with us, for the last year, Kurti and his entourage would not have been able to do what they did. They wouldn't have been able to work if we had all democratically organized ourselves when the dinar was abolished, when the Post of Serbia and other institutions were shut down."

And when it comes to the international community and their moves, Arsenijevic said that the most important thing for them was that there was no destabilization on the ground:

"And to sit in peace and receive their fat salaries. If we don't fight for us, we can't expect some foreigner to fight for our rights," he said.

Prosecutor's Office in Gnjilane: We did not receive an official request from the police for today's action (Kosovo Online)

Following the Basic Prosecutor's Office in Pristina, the Basic Prosecutor's Office in Gnjilane also announced that it did not authorize the Kosovo Police to conduct checks and searches at multiple locations where Serbian institutions have been closed, reported Kosovo Online, citing Demokracia.

In a response to the newspaper Paparaci, the Prosecutor's Office stated that it had not received an official request from the police for such action.

"We inform you that the Basic Prosecutor's Office in Gnjilane did not authorize the Kosovo Police regarding the checks that were carried out today, January 15th, at multiple locations, as we did not receive any formal official request justified in writing, which would be forwarded to the Basic Court in Gnjilane for issuing a control order, in accordance with the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code of Kosovo," stated the response from the Basic Prosecutor's Office in Gnjilane.

The Pristina Prosecutor's Office did not approve the search of Serbian institutions (alternativna.com)

"No one authorized the control or raid at these locations, because there was no official written request for the execution of this action by the competent institutions, for which no evidence was submitted to the state prosecutor to create suspicion that a criminal offense is being committed under the jurisdiction of the Basic Prosecutor's Office in Pristina," announced the Basic Prosecutor's Office in Pristina in connection with the latest action of the Kosovo authorities to close a number of Serbian institutions south of the Ibar.

"The state prosecutor, bearing in mind the fact that in this case the necessary procedures decisively defined by the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Republic of Kosovo were not considered, it was not possible to issue any authorization in this specific case," the statement added.

It is also emphasized that "the state prosecutor is diligent and committed to the prosecution of criminal offenses and their perpetrators, always based on the law in force, as well as on the principle of equality and non-discrimination of all citizens of the Republic of Kosovo".

Ministry of Culture of Serbia on opening of museum in Pristina dedicated to victims of sexual violence (Kosovo Online, RTS, Tanjug)

The Ministry of Culture of Serbia has strongly condemned the opening of “the so-called cultural institution in Pristina, a museum dedicated to victims of sexual violence during the Kosovo war, named "Moment", stating that it is a fabrication and manipulation by the "false state of Kosovo and its Prime Minister Albin Kurti."

In response to Kosovo Online, the Ministry of Culture stated that in an era of unilateralism, violence, and systematic persecution of the Serbian people in Kosovo, today's raid into Serbian institutions particularly highlights the hypocrisy and ruthlessness of Albin Kurti's regime.

"This is a shameless attempt to cover up the facts about the ongoing violence against the Serbian people, which continues to this day, as well as to conceal the perpetrators of these crimes behind narratives about supposed sexual violence victims. Such acts of feigning and shifting the narrative have been present for decades, but the novelty now is the use of 'cultural institutions' for these purposes," the Ministry of Culture noted.

Read more at:https://tinyurl.com/2p8sejpz

Five Serbs from the Kosovo Morava region denied accusations of war crimes (RTS)

In the continuation of the preliminary hearing in the Basic Court in Pristina yesterday, five Serbs from the Kosovo Morava region pleaded not guilty to the allegations in the indictment that they committed war crimes against Albanian civilians in 1999 in the area of the municipality of Gnjilane.

They were arrested in August last year in Pasjane near Gnjilane and Bosce near Kosovska Kamenica. Except for Dragan Cvetkovic, they remained in custody from the moment of their arrest.

RTS recalled that since EULEX handed over cases of serious crimes to the institutions in Pristina in 2016, more than 60 indictments for war crimes have been brought, mostly against Serbs. In ten of these cases, indictments were brought against persons who are not in Kosovo.

Filipovic: The proceedings against Milos Pleskovic are staged (KiM radio)

Lawyer Jovana Filipovic stated that so far, in the proceedings before the Basic Court in Pristina against Milos Pleskovic, for the criminal offense of war crimes against the civilian population, a total of eight witnesses have been heard, but that there is only one witness who is an alleged eyewitness.

"In this proceeding, there is only one witness who is allegedly an eyewitness, while the other witnesses had no direct knowledge of Pleskovic. The heard witnesses proved to the acting court panel without a doubt that there were a number of irregularities caused by the acting policemen in this procedure, where even one of the witnesses claims that his signature was not on the statement," said Jovana Filipovic told Kim Radio. 

According to her, bearing in mind that one of the witnesses confirmed that, although he lives in Prizren, until a year and a half ago, he had never heard of anyone linking Pleskovic to the murders of three people that took place in 1998, and that the information that he (Pleskovic) was the alleged perpetrator was received from the victim's brother in the period when Pleskovic was arrested, this clearly indicates that, as she said, "the proceedings against her client were rigged".