Russia accuses Serbia of betrayal for supplying arms to Ukraine
Serbia’s position of neutrality questioned as Russia alleges secret arms shipments for Ukraine sent through intermediaries
Russia on Thursday accused Serbia of exporting arms to Ukraine, saying it was a stab in the back by its long-time Slavic Balkan ally.
“Serbian defence enterprises, contrary to the ‘neutrality’ declared by official Belgrade, continue to supply ammunition to Kyiv,” the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service, SVR, said in a statement.
The statement alleged that the export of the Serbian arms to Ukraine were going through Nato intermediaries, “primarily the Czech Republic, Poland and Bulgaria. Recently, exotic options involving African states have also been used for this purpose”.
Serbia’s populist President Aleksandar Vucic told the state RTS television that he has recently discussed the issue of the arm exports to Ukraine with Russian President Vladimir Putin and that it was agreed that the two countries form a “working group” to establish how Serbian-made weapons reach the Ukrainian front lines.
Serbian arms exports to Ukraine, mostly the Soviet-era-calibre ammunition still used by Ukraine’s defence forces, have long been known since 2023, but it was not clear why the Russian foreign security service decided to react now.