The study examines the thesis of Russian “malignant” influence in the Western Balkans region, which Russia considers as a part of its wider geopolitical sphere and in which it uses a wide spectrum of soft power to slow down the integration of the countries of the region into the European Union (EU) and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The stabilization and prosperity of the Western Balkans are correlated with the realization of irreconcilable war goals between the West and Russia in the hybrid war taking place in Ukraine. While the West aims for a complete defeat of Russia to destabilize and fragment its vast, resource-rich territory, on the other hand, the Kremlin seeks to change Ukraine's borders through the annexation of economically and strategically valuable parts of its territory. As the conflict in Ukraine remains diplomatically uncontrollable after a year and a half, war becomes an essential threat to European security architecture. Any change in Ukraine's borders will raise the issue of border changes in Central and Eastern Europe, including the Western Balkans, posing a major challenge to the stability of the region, which in recent years, has been shaped by diplomatic, economic, and media confrontations between the West and Russia.