Overview
- On Monday, Sept. 7, Mladic's coffin lay in the Church of St. Luke in Belgrade before he was buried at Topcider cemetery in a ceremony that featured soldiers, a military guard and the attendance of several senior ministers while President Aleksandar Vučić did not attend.
- Thousands of supporters publicly celebrated Mladic during the wake and funeral, with chants, large portraits and banners including a football-tribune display invoking Potocari that victim groups called a call to genocide.
- The European Commission and EU officials condemned the public glorification, the EU enlargement commissioner Marta Kos cancelled a planned visit to Serbia and senior EU leaders warned that official participation undermines Serbia's EU accession path.
- High-profile regional figures and foreign envoys were present, images showed Milorad Dodik, the Russian ambassador and former Greek minister Panos Kammenos at the service, and Serbia used a government plane and army protocol to repatriate and honor the remains.
- Mladic was convicted by the UN tribunal for the Srebrenica genocide and the siege of Sarajevo, victims' groups say the funeral reopens deep wounds, and the events increase the likelihood of diplomatic fallout and closer EU scrutiny of Serbia's reform commitments.