Billboards wishing Russian President Vladimir Putin a happy birthday appeared in Belgrade on Friday, media reports said.

Local media said the billboards were signed by the Konzervativni Pokret Nasi (a conservative/nationalist group) with letter Z written much larger than the others. The Russian military has been using the letter Z on their vehicles since the start of the invasion of Ukraine. T-shirts and other things have been sold by street vendors in the Serbian capital.

The billboards include a photograph of the Russian President with the words happy birthday to President Vladimir Putin from Serb brothers.

Putin has a large fan-base in Serbia and the Republika Srpska in neighboring Bosnia-Herzegovina, including among top state officials and conservative politicians.