Serbia denies allegations of supplying ammunition to Ukraine amid friendly relations

Ukraine has reportedly obtained approximately $855 million worth of Serbian ammunition, as per estimates shared by unnamed experts in a recent Financial Times article on June 22.

Belgrade’s friendly approach to Moscow creates complexities in its relationship with Ukraine, given Serbia’s decision not to join sanctions against Russia.

Simultaneously, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has referred to Ukraine as a “friendly country” and has previously reiterated that Crimea and Donbas are Ukrainian sovereign territories.

According to the FT, third parties have transported approximately $855 million in ammunition exports to Ukraine. 

“This is an important aspect of our economic revival. Yes, we do export our ammunition,” Vucic said.

We cannot export to Ukraine or to Russia, but we have had many contracts with Americans, Spaniards, Czechs, and others. What they do with that, in the end, is their job. Even if I know where the ammunition ends, that’s not my job. My job is to secure the fact that we deal legally with our ammunition, that we sell it  . . .  I need to take care of my people, and that’s it. That’s all I can say. We have friends in Kyiv and in Moscow. These are our Slav brothers.”

Vucic stated that the $855 million figure was generally accurate over a period of “perhaps two or three years.”

The Serbian government publicly denied the allegations that it had committed to supplying lethal weaponry to Kyiv or had already delivered it, as evidenced by the so-called Pentagon leaks from April 2023.

According to reports from last year, Vucic is “not opposed” to his nation selling ammunition to middlemen who would then send it to Ukraine.