Russian president Vladimir Putin's decision to attack Ukraine has triggered worldwide condemnations, including throughout the Western Balkans.

"Republic of Serbia ... considers breach of territorial integrity of any country wrong, including Ukraine", President Aleksandar Vucic said in a televised press conference.

Serbia -- an aspiring member of the European Union which at the same time nurtures strong ties with Moscow -- had kept silent since the Russian invasion started.

Both Slavic and predominantly Orthodox Christian, Serbs and Russians have shared fraternal relations for centuries.

Some 83 percent of Serbian citizens believe Moscow is a "friend" of Belgrade, according to a 2021 poll by Institute for European Affairs.

Russia also controls the Balkan country's oil industry and wields the power of veto that effectively blocks recognition of Serbia's breakaway region of Kosovo in the United Nations.

Kosovo declared independence after NATO carried out a bombing campaign in 1999 -- the alliance's first intervention against a sovereign state -- which effectively ended the war between Serbia and ethnic Albanian guerillas.

Vucic, who is facing a general election in April -- stopped short of imposing sanctions against Russia, citing national interests and fears of a Russian diplomatic backlash.

"Do you think it is possible to impose sanctions on Russia overnight, the same Russia that never imposed sanctions against us?", Vucic said.

"We do that (impose sanctions), and tomorrow there is no Resolution 1244, there is nothing," he added, evoking the 1999 UN resolution that does not mention Kosovo's full independence.

Vucic has been successfully juggling Serbia's relations with Eastern and Western powers for years, scoring substantial financial aid from the EU alongside major business deals with China.

Critics and rights groups have accused Vucic -- but also Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik -- of eroding democracy, including curbing media freedoms and undermining institutions in a similar manner to Moscow.