Russia accuses Serbia of supplying weapons to Ukraine, 'profiting from the blood of their fellow Slavs'

Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) said on Thursday that Serbian defense companies continue to supply ammunition to Kyiv “in defiance of Belgrade’s officially declared ‘neutrality.’”

In a press release titled “Serbian arms industry tries to stab Russia in the back,” the SVR alleged that Serbian contributions to what it calls “the war waged by the West” amount to “hundreds of thousands of rounds for rocket artillery and howitzers, along with a million bullets for small arms.”

According to the SVR, the shipments are routed through intermediary countries using falsified end-user certificates. The agency names the Czech Republic, Poland, and Bulgaria among the countries involved. “It’s hard to justify such deliveries ‘on humanitarian grounds.’ They have one obvious purpose — to kill and maim Russian soldiers and civilians,” the statement reads.

The SVR also lists Serbian defense manufacturers allegedly involved in what it describes as an “assembly line of death.” “It seems that the desire of Serbian arms makers and their backers to profit from the blood of their fellow Slavs has made them forget who their real friends are, and who their real enemies are,” the agency said, adding that “Russia has stood by Serbia during the most critical moments in its history.”

In June 2024, the Financial Times reported that Serbia had exported around 800 million euros’ worth of ammunition that eventually reached Ukraine via third parties. Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić did not deny the shipments and said the figure was roughly accurate. He described the harms exports as “part of [Serbia’s] economic revival.”

“Yes, we do export our ammunition. We cannot export to Ukraine or to Russia… but we have had many contracts with Americans, Spaniards, Czechs, others. What they do with that in the end is their job,” Vučić told the FT.