Russia charges Serbia with ‘capitalizing on the blood of Slavic peoples’ due to arms supplies to Ukraine.
In a notable development, Serbia and Russia have agreed to collaborate on a probe into claims that weapons manufactured in Serbia were dispatched to Ukraine. This comes after Moscow accused Belgrade of betrayal amid reports that Serbian ammunition had reached Kyiv.
The Russian foreign intelligence agency, SVR, labeled these alleged arms transfers as a “stab in the back.” They contended that Serbia’s defense sector has been supplying arms to Ukraine via NATO-aligned nations, such as the Czech Republic, Poland, and Bulgaria, alongside unnamed African countries.
“The intent behind these actions is clear: to inflict harm on Russian soldiers and civilian populations,” the SVR stated in an official announcement on Thursday.
“It appears that the eagerness of those in Serbia’s defense industry to profit from the suffering of fellow Slavs has led them to forget who their true allies are and who their adversaries are,” the Russian agency remarked.
Cooperative Inquiry
Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vucic confirmed the establishment of a task force with Russian officials to investigate these allegations but dismissed some accusations as unfounded. “Many of the claims made are not accurate,” Vucic stated during an interview with state broadcaster RTS, mentioning his discussions with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the matter during a recent visit to Moscow.
Belgrade finds itself navigating a delicate balance between its long-standing ties to Russia and aspirations for European Union membership. While Serbia has condemned Russia’s military actions in Ukraine at the United Nations, it has faced ongoing pressure to align with Western sanctions.
A leaked Pentagon document from 2023 indicated that Serbia had purportedly consented to supply armaments to Ukraine, despite its official stance of military neutrality. Furthermore, a 2024 report by The Financial Times revealed that Serbia had exported over $908 million in ammunition to Ukraine via third-party countries since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022.
Serbia’s arms manufacturing sector, largely built on Soviet-era designs, produces weapons compatible with both Russian and Ukrainian military equipment. Despite Moscow being Serbia’s primary supplier of gas and its controlling interest in the country’s only oil refinery, Vucic has also engaged with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on multiple occasions, expressing support for Ukraine’s sovereignty.