First published: June 21, 2026 at 08:45 AM
Last update: June 21, 2026 at 09:12 PM
Issue
Issue for June 21, 2026
This is the stable daily issue page at `/digest/2026-06-21/`: all updates for the day are collected in one feed with a verification log.
Last update: June 21, 2026 at 09:12 PMCards: 7Stories: 1
Fresh issue
June 21, 2026
The June 21 issue opens with the continuing 'sound cannon' case: N1 and Danas have been added to Novosti's morning framing with Vucic's renewed defense of the FSB report and attack on N1/Nova. The evening update adds a Novi Sad card on the vandalized car of David Gruhonjic on Liman and ANEM/NDNV calls to protect Dinko Gruhonjic's family. In infrastructure, Vucic visited the new railway dispatch center, while in judicial reform Platforma za evropsku Srbiju wrote to the EU about allegedly different judicial-law texts. The local block keeps the Belgrade JKP acting-director income story, the Novo naselje traffic change for Korzo, and 021's warning about June 22 power cuts in Novi Sad and Veternik.
- 08:45 AM
Created the daily issue for 2026-06-21. Add cards as the source check progresses.
- 08:55 AM
The morning check added three cards: Novosti with a pro-government continuation of the 'sound cannon' case, Danas with income data for acting directors of Belgrade public utility companies, and 021 with temporary traffic changes in Novo naselje for Korzo until June 22.
- 02:13 PM
The daytime check updated the 'sound cannon' card with N1 and Danas material, added a card on the new railway dispatch center and the condition of the Belgrade-Nis / Valjevo-Vrbnica lines, a card on Platforma za evropsku Srbiju's letter to EU institutions about the judicial laws, and a local 021 card on June 22 power cuts in Novi Sad and Veternik.
- 04:05 PM
The editorial QA pass tightened the Russian wording on the Platforma za evropsku Srbiju EU-letter card: the dispute concerns whether the Venice Commission and parliament received different versions of the judicial laws.
- 08:08 PM
The evening check added a card on the vandalized car of David Gruhonjic, Dinko Gruhonjic's son, on Liman: N1, Danas and 021 reported parking-lot details, police statements, and ANEM/NDNV calls for an urgent investigation and family protection.
- 09:12 PM
The editorial QA pass clarified the Gruhonjic card: the car damage happened on the evening of June 20, and N1, Danas, and 021 reported it on June 21.
News feed
Issue cards
After Novosti's morning account of the Pink, Prva, and Informer appearance, N1 and Danas on June 21 carried a new part of the same line: Aleksandar Vucic again thanked the FSB for its report, said the Russian service would not sign a false opinion, and said he would not sue N1 and Nova, though he called their work a 'history of dishonor.' The card continues yesterday's dispute over prosecutors' version of an alleged simulation of LRAD use at the March 15, 2025 protest.
N1
N1 and Nova again targeted by Vucic, who thanked the Russian service over the sound-cannon report
(N1 i Nova ponovo na meti Vučića, zahvalio se ruskoj službi zbog izveštaja o zvučnom topu)
N1 writes that Vucic again thanked Russia's FSB for confirming together with the Serbian service that no 'sound cannon' was used at the March 15, 2025 protest. He said that if anyone had fired such a device, he would not remain president for another day, and asked whether FSB director Aleksandar Bortnikov would sign a false opinion. N1 recalls that the March 15 protest was organized at students' call, that during 15 minutes of silence a sound was heard in the 11th minute and the crowd in Ulica kralja Milana split in panic; the authorities denied device use, but it later emerged that police had LRAD 450XL devices and that such vehicles were on Belgrade streets.
Read sourceDanas
Vucic says Russia's FSB would never sign a false report on the sound cannon
(Vučić kaže da ruska služba FSB nikad ne bi potpisala lažni izveštaj o zvučnom topu)
Danas reports that on June 21 Vucic again thanked the FSB for confirming that no 'sound cannon' was used at the March 15, 2025 Belgrade protest and called the service one of the world's most respected. He repeated that if the device had been used, he would not remain president for another day, and said the FBI and FSB were invited to establish the facts. Asked by an N1 journalist, he said he was sorry she 'had to participate in this'; when Pink asked about suing N1 and Nova, he said he would not sue them, but called their work a 'history of dishonor.'
Read sourceNovosti
Vucic exposes what Novosti calls blockade lies about the sound cannon
(ŽURILO IM SE DA IZAZOVU RAT U SRBIJI: Predsednik Vučić ogolio blokaderske laži o zvučnom topu)
Novosti writes that Aleksandar Vucic, in a joint special program on Pink, Prva, and Informer, said the authorities had not 'shot' at citizens, but that others had 'shot at him' in order, in his words, to destroy independent Serbia. He said VJT had 'gathered the courage' to do what should have been done a year ago, and repeated that a foreign company, a Russian security service, and a U.S. company had denied LRAD use. Vucic tied the dispute to the March 15, 2025 protest, argued the document was not about Autokomanda on January 27 but carried a February 25 registry number, and said the 'Ko si bre ti' portal could launch on June 29, after Vidovdan and the government's June 27 gathering in Belgrade.
Read sourceN1, Danas, and 021 reported on June 21 that the previous evening the car of David Gruhonjic, son of journalist and professor Dinko Gruhonjic, was smashed and badly damaged in Novi Sad's Liman area. Witnesses said three younger men wearing balaclavas attacked the vehicle in a parking lot; police came to the scene, David and Dinko Gruhonjic gave statements along with witnesses, and ANEM and NDNV demanded an urgent investigation and protection for the family.
N1
Car of Dinko Gruhonjic's son vandalized in Novi Sad
(Vandalizovan automobil sina Dinka Gruhonjića u Novom Sadu)
N1, citing Beta, writes that the car of David Gruhonjic, son of journalist and professor Dinko Gruhonjic, was smashed in Novi Sad: witnesses said three younger men wearing balaclavas specifically targeted that vehicle in a Liman parking lot on the evening of June 20 and ran away when a witness approached. Police came to the scene; David and Dinko Gruhonjic, as well as witnesses, gave statements at a police station. David said the motive could be the Zagreb plates, but also a continuation of pressure and threats against the family that had already been reported to police many times; Dinko said he feared for his family's life.
Read sourceN1
ANEM calls for investigation into the smashed car and protection for the Gruhonjic family
(ANEM: Nadležni hitno da istraže razbijanje automobila i zaštite porodicu Dinka Gruhonjića)
N1 carries ANEM's statement: the organization says the smashed car is a consequence of a years-long campaign, lynching and targeting of Dinko Gruhonjic by top state officials and pro-government media. ANEM demanded that police and prosecutors urgently investigate the case, identify and prosecute the perpetrators, and provide protection for Dinko Gruhonjic and his family. Veran Matic said the family is under constant targeting and threats, and called on the authorities to stop campaigns against Gruhonjic and other dissenters.
Read sourceDanas
NDNV says Dinko Gruhonjic is no longer safe in Serbia
(NDNV: Dinko Gruhonjić više nije bezbedan u Srbiji, moguća je i fizička likvidacija)
Danas quotes NDNV condemning the attack on David Gruhonjic's car and saying Dinko Gruhonjic is no longer safe in Serbia, with the organization warning that physical liquidation is possible. NDNV demanded protection for the family and linked the risk to a long pressure campaign. The article was published at 19:22 after earlier Danas reports on reactions from ANEM and Veran Matic.
Read source021
Coverage: Novi Sad / City services, Transport, Urbanism, Environment, Civic initiatives
021: Dinko Gruhonjic's son's car smashed in Liman
(Sinu Dinka Gruhonjića razlupan automobil na Limanu)
021/Autonomija gives local details: the car was damaged in a Liman parking lot, witnesses spoke of three younger men wearing balaclavas, and the scene photo was published with an Autonomija credit. The outlet writes that David Gruhonjic works at the Faculty of Transport and Traffic Sciences in Zagreb, is a second-year doctoral student, is a Serbian citizen with a work permit in Croatia, and was earlier linked to SOA by pro-government tabloids. It also mentions Dinko Gruhonjic's early-2025 letter to Croatian officials asking them to protect his son.
Read source
On June 21, Aleksandar Vucic visited the new Unified Dispatch Center in Belgrade and demanded that trains in Serbia become more punctual than German and Swiss trains, with Transport Minister Aleksandra Sofronijevic replacing directors if delays become routine. According to N1 and Danas, the center's 23 staff now monitor and control 540 km of railway, the Belgrade-Subotica line should enter the system in six to seven months, and an urgent working group is promised for the 210 km Valjevo-Vrbnica section and the line from Kosjeric to the Montenegrin border.
N1
Vucic says Serbian Railways must be more punctual than German and Swiss railways
(Vučić tvrdi da Železnica Srbije mora da bude tačnija od nemačke i švajcarske, od ministarke traži da smenjuje direktore)
N1 reports that during the visit to the new Unified Dispatch Center, Vucic said directors should be replaced when trains leave initial stations 30-40 minutes late, addressing Transport Minister Aleksandra Sofronijevic. He said the center performs two key functions, monitoring and control, with 23 employees monitoring and managing 540 km of railway, while the Belgrade-Subotica line will be added in six to seven months. He named Belgrade-Nis and Valjevo-Vrbnica as key lines, said nobody had touched the 210 km Valjevo-Vrbnica section since 1976, and expressed hope that the first 19 km Stalac-Djunis section on the Belgrade-Nis line will be completed in March 2027; Russian Railways in Serbia director Mansurbek Sultanov said the project is 83 percent complete.
Read sourceDanas
Vucic: Railway from Kosjeric to the Montenegrin border is in very poor condition
(Vučić: Od Kosjerića do granice sa Crnom Gorom veoma loše stanje pruge)
Danas emphasizes the condition of the tracks: Vucic said the 210 km Valjevo-Vrbnica section is important for western Serbia and, in his words, has not been touched since 1976, so accelerated repairs are planned to avoid endangering safety. He added that the new dispatch-center system covers about 540 km of railway and that Belgrade-Subotica will be added in about six months. Vucic also said monitoring will be turned into control as tracks are modernized, and that directors could be replaced every month if trains continue leaving Prokop 45 minutes late.
Read source
Citing asset declarations filed with the Anti-Corruption Agency, Danas writes that only one of 15 acting directors of Belgrade public utility companies earns less than Aleksandar Vucic's presidential salary of 253,656.20 dinars. The highest monthly income listed is for Vladan Djukic of JKP Pogrebne usluge: 523,000 dinars including salary and a military pension.
Danas
JKP Pogrebne usluge director has twice Vucic's income
(Direktor JKP "Pogrebne usluge" ima duplo veća primanja od Vučića: Samo jedan v.d. direktor komunalnog preduzeća u Beogradu zarađuje manje od predsednika)
Danas says it reviewed the latest publicly available asset declarations for 15 acting directors of Belgrade public utility companies. According to the paper, Aleksandar Vucic's presidential salary is 253,656.20 dinars, and only Gradsko stambeno preduzece director Aleksandar Jaksic, at 252,000 dinars, is below that level. At the top is Vladan Djukic, head of JKP Pogrebne usluge, with 523,000 dinars a month: 273,000 in salary and a 250,000 military pension; he is followed by Aleksandar Kemives of Infostan with 343,227 dinars and Dusan Tojagic of Zelenilo Beograd with 329,703 dinars. Danas also flags Vanja Vukic of Beogradske elektrane with a 305,000 dinar salary, Radomir Vujadin of BVK with an additional 50,000 dinars as chair of the UKCS supervisory board, and Andrija Mladenovic of Beogradski metro i voz with a 239,977.45 dinar salary plus 35,000 from public sources without a stated basis.
Read source
021 reports that traffic in part of Novo naselje is changed for the Korzo concert from 06:00 on June 20 until 12:00 on June 22. Ulica Bate Brkica is closed between Ulica Seljackih buna and Ulica Dusana Danilovica, and GSP is rerouting line 8; the city administration asks residents to follow temporary signage.
021
Coverage: Novi Sad / City services, Transport, Urbanism, Environment, Civic initiatives
Traffic changed in part of Novo naselje until tomorrow for Korzo
(Do sutra izmenjen saobraćaj u delu Novog naselja zbog manifestacije "Korzo")
021 writes that the temporary regime applies from Saturday, June 20 at 06:00 until Monday, June 22 at 12:00. During that period, traffic is suspended on Ulica Bate Brkica between Ulica Seljackih buna and Ulica Dusana Danilovica, and GSP bus line 8 is rerouted. The reason is the outdoor classical-music concert Korzo, held on Sunday, June 21, on Ulica Bate Brkica; the city administration asks residents to adjust their movement to the temporary traffic signage.
Read sourceSSP, SRCE, PSG, and Solidarnost, grouped in Platforma za evropsku Srbiju, said on June 21 that they sent EU institutions a letter alleging an SNS attempt to mislead the Venice Commission: they claim one text of the judicial laws was sent to the Commission and another to parliament. Danas also carries the Justice Ministry's response: Minister Nenad Vujic denies that the texts differ and says the only difference is that the parliamentary text is in Serbian.
Context: Serbia and EU accession
N1
SSP, SRCE, PSG and Solidarnost: We informed the EU of an SNS attempt to mislead the Venice Commission
(SSP, SRCE, PSG i Solidarnost: Obavestili smo EU o pokušaju SNS-a da obmane Venecijansku komisiju)
N1, citing FoNet, reports that Platforma za evropsku Srbiju - SSP, Srbija centar, PSG, and Solidarnost - informed key EU institutions of what it called a new humiliation of Serbia and an SNS attempt to mislead the Venice Commission. The statement says that after domestic and EU pressure, suspended Growth Plan funds, and a sharp Commission assessment, SNS undertook to amend the harmful judicial laws, but, according to the platform, sent one text to the Commission and another to parliament. The platform specifically points to transitional provisions that, in its account, allow indefinite postponement of the commission for objections to mandatory instructions and preserve three-year mandates for prosecutors temporarily assigned from lower to higher prosecutor's offices.
Read sourceDanas
Platforma za evropsku Srbiju sent the EU a letter over allegedly different judicial-law texts
(Platforma za evropsku Srbiju uputila pismo EU o navodno različitim tekstovima pravosudnih zakona)
Danas writes that the letter to EU institutions was signed by SSP, SRCE, PSG, and Solidarnost, gathered around Platforma za evropsku Srbiju. Their statement claims that the Venice Commission received one text while parliament received another, containing provisions the Commission allegedly had not seen; they see an additional problem in an attempt to extend the effect of Ugljesa Mrdic's laws by delaying the commission for objections to mandatory instructions. Danas adds the Justice Ministry's position: the ministry denies claims that the texts differ, and Minister Nenad Vujic says the only difference between the parliamentary text and the text before the Commission is that the parliamentary version is in Serbian.
Read source021 publishes a service notice for Monday, June 22: several Novi Sad streets are scheduled for power cuts from 9:00 to 10:00, while Veternik outages are listed from 8:00 to 13:30. In Novi Sad the affected addresses include Kopernikova, Janka Cmelika, Svete Kasapinovica, Ilije Bircanina, Branka Bajica, Save Vukovica, Almaska, Koce Kolarova, Ladjarska, and Milana Rakica; in Veternik, Tome Maksimovica, Avalska, Petra Kocica, Kralja Petra I, and Sportska.
021
Coverage: Novi Sad / City services, Transport, Urbanism, Environment, Civic initiatives
Parts of Novi Sad and Veternik without power on Monday
(Delovi Novog Sada i Veternika u ponedeljak bez struje)
021 reports that several addresses in Novi Sad and Veternik will be without power on June 22. In Novi Sad, from 9:00 to 10:00 the listed addresses are Kopernikova 1-43 and 2-46, Janka Cmelika 7-15 and 12-16, Svete Kasapinovica 7-9 and 20, Ilije Bircanina 1-13 and 2A-10A, Branka Bajica 34 and 44-48, the traffic light at Hadzi Ruvimova and Ilije Bircanina, plus Save Vukovica 18-42 and 31-37, Almaska 17-19, Koce Kolarova 4-8 and 7-11, Ladjarska 1 and 3, and Milana Rakica 11. In Veternik, from 8:00 to 13:30 the listed addresses are Tome Maksimovica 1 and 2-34, Avalska, Petra Kocica, Kralja Petra I 17-31, and Sportska 1.
Read sourceContext
Long-running stories with updates
Stories
Serbia and EU accession
This story tracks Serbia's EU talks, rule-of-law requirements, judicial reforms, media issues, and foreign-policy conditions. In June 2026, the key current episode concerns amendments to five judicial laws, Venice Commission opinions, and expectations around opening Cluster 3.
- Serbia has not opened new EU accession negotiation chapters since December 2021.
- In January 2026, parliament adopted amendments to five judicial laws on MP Ugljesa Mrdic's proposal, drawing criticism from parts of the professional community and the EU over prosecutorial autonomy and judicial independence.
- On April 24, the Venice Commission published an urgent opinion identifying shortcomings and seven key recommendations for removing them.
- On May 18, the Justice Ministry sent improved working drafts of the amendments to parliament for transmission to Venice Commission rapporteurs.
- On June 12, Ana Brnabic said the Venice Commission had given a positive opinion, that the package would go to parliament next week, and that the government expects Cluster 3 to open soon.
- The follow-up opinion published on June 16 clarified the status: seven of nine recommendations were implemented, but the return of two of 11 organized-crime prosecutors and the autonomy of the cybercrime unit remain unresolved.
- On June 17, Serbia's parliament opened an extraordinary session with amendments to five judicial laws on the agenda, moving the Venice Commission recommendations dispute from expert review into parliamentary procedure.
- On the evening of June 17, N1 and Danas reported that the High Prosecutorial Council scheduled a June 18 extraordinary session with temporary assignment of public prosecutors to TOK among the proposed agenda items; this addresses one unresolved Venice Commission remark.
- On June 18, VST decided to assign Irena Bjelos, Aleksandar Barac, and Boris Majlat to TOK for three years; Bjelos and Barac return from June 19, while Danas separately carried the Judicial Authority Union's criticism that temporary assignment of prosecutors as a mechanism is not in line with European standards.
- On June 21, SSP, SRCE, PSG, and Solidarnost told EU institutions that, according to them, the Venice Commission and parliament received different texts of the judicial-law amendments; the Justice Ministry denies this and says the parliamentary version differs only because it is in Serbian.
Timeline
How the story developed
Serbia last opened new EU negotiation chapters in December 2021; that fact again became part of the dispute around Cluster 3.
Parliament adopted amendments to five judicial laws on MP Ugljesa Mrdic's proposal; professional groups and the EU later criticized them as a risk to prosecutorial autonomy and judicial independence.
The Venice Commission published an urgent opinion on the January amendments and issued seven key recommendations to address the shortcomings.
The Justice Ministry sent improved working drafts of the judicial-law amendments to parliament for transmission to Venice Commission rapporteurs.
Ana Brnabic said the Venice Commission gave a positive opinion on the package, that the amendments would go to parliament next week, and that she expects Cluster 3 to open soon.
The Venice Commission published its follow-up opinion: Serbia implemented seven of nine recommendations, but two key areas - the return of two organized-crime prosecutors and autonomy for the cybercrime unit - are not fully implemented.
Parliament put amendments to five judicial laws on an extraordinary session agenda, including laws on public prosecution, judges, the High Prosecutorial Council, court and prosecutor territories, and bodies for fighting high-tech crime.
VST decided to assign Irena Bjelos, Aleksandar Barac, and Boris Majlat to TOK for three years; the decision for Bjelos and Barac passed with nine votes in favor and one abstention, while Majlat's passed with eight in favor, one against, and one abstention.
Platforma za evropsku Srbiju informed EU institutions of allegedly different judicial-law texts for the Venice Commission and parliament; the Justice Ministry rejected the claims of differences.