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The Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) of the Russian Federation has accused Serbia of continuing to send ammunition to Ukraine, "despite its declarations of neutrality."
In a statement published on May 28 on the official SVR website, the names of several Serbian defense industry companies whose ammunition is said to have ended up in the hands of the Ukrainian military are mentioned.
"The 'corridor of death', organized in Serbia - a friendly country of Russia - includes the largest military industry companies, including 'Jugoimport SDPR', 'Zenitprom', 'Krushik', 'Sofag', 'Reyer DTI', 'Sloboda', 'Përvi Partizan' and others," the statement said.
The SVR claimed that these companies supplied "hundreds of thousands of shells for rocket launchers and howitzers, as well as millions of bullets for small arms."
According to Russian intelligence, this aid to Ukraine is being disguised through "false end-user certificates and the use of intermediary states - mainly NATO countries such as the Czech Republic, Poland and Bulgaria - and more recently, through more exotic channels involving African countries."
In a harsh statement, the SVR said that "the thirst for wealth of Serbian arms manufacturers and their supporters, at the expense of the blood of the fraternal Slavic peoples, has caused them to completely forget who their true friends are and who their enemies are."
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty has sought comment on this issue from the Serbian Government, Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Presidency, but has not received a response. Similarly, none of the companies mentioned by the SVR have responded.
The possibility of arms exports from Serbia to Ukraine has been reported before. In early 2023, the Russian portal “Mash” published a video that, according to it, showed the loading of 122-millimeter “GRAD” rockets at a warehouse in Bratislava, claiming that they were missiles from the “Krushik” company from Valjevo that had been sent to Ukraine via Turkey and Slovakia.
"Krushik" and former Serbian Defense Minister Miloš Vučević have denied these claims.
Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic also told reporters in Belgrade on March 3, 2023, that since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, Serbia has not exported weapons to any party involved in the conflict.
In March 2022, a photo of a soldier of the so-called “Donetsk People’s Republic” holding an unexploded mine was published on Russian social media. Radio Free Europe, through analysis of the notes on the mine, verified that it was manufactured in the third quarter of 2016 at the Serbian state-owned Krushik factory.
Serbian authorities have stated that from 2014 to 2021 there were no arms exports to Ukraine. The Ministry of Trade has stated to Radio Free Europe that during this period no arms were exported to any other country where the end user would be Ukraine.
Serbia, along with Turkey, is one of the candidate countries for membership in the European Union that has not imposed sanctions on Russia after the start of the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Serbian authorities say this is due to "traditional friendship", Russia's support for the non-recognition of Kosovo's independence, and dependence on Russian gas.
However, Serbia has supported Ukraine's territorial integrity and voted in several United Nations resolutions condemning Russian aggression - including one on February 24, where it voted in favor of Ukraine. Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić apologized to Serbian citizens for this vote, saying that Serbia's representative to the UN should have abstained./ REL
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