Russia Accuses Serbia of Secretly Supplying Weapons to Ukraine

Russian intelligence agency SVR has accused Serbian arms companies of secretly supplying weapons to Ukraine, effectively ‘shooting Moscow in the back.’ According to the statement, despite Serbia’s official stance of neutrality, defense firms continue to deliver ammunition to Kyiv. The SVR claims these companies use fake certificates and third countries, including NATO members like the Czech Republic, Poland, and Bulgaria, to conceal the final recipient. Recent reports suggest even African governments have been involved in these transactions. Approximately 100,000 artillery shells and one million units of automatic firearms are alleged to have been sent from Serbia to Ukraine, though no specific dates were provided. Specific companies such as Yugoimport SDPR, Zenitprom, Krusik, Sofag, Reyer DTI, Sloboda, and Prvi Partizan were named in the accusations. This marks a rare and harsh critique from an official Russian body against Serbian entities, highlighting tensions between Moscow and Belgrade. While Serbia has maintained strong relations with Russia, it hasn’t imposed sanctions since the start of the war in Ukraine and recently acquired Russian anti-drone systems. Despite this, President Aleksandar Vucic met with Vladimir Putin earlier this year to discuss continued discounted natural gas supplies. The SVR criticized Serbia’s military industry for profiting from the blood of Slavic brothers and reminded them of historical support during NATO’s 1999 intervention.