Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) issued a statement on Monday accusing Serbian arms manufacturers of continuing to supply weapons to Ukraine, despite Serbia’s official neutrality in the ongoing conflict.
According to the SVR, Serbian defense firms have allegedly increased their shipments of ammunition to Ukraine through indirect and covert channels designed to obscure the weapons’ final destination. The report claims that Serbian-made munitions are exported as disassembled "knock-down kits" to NATO countries, where they are reassembled before being sent on to Ukraine.
The SVR characterized the alleged arms transfers as a betrayal, stating, “It is regrettable that now these traditions of friendship and mutual assistance are being erased by the thirst for profit and cowardly multi-vectorism.”
In response to the accusations, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić announced that all exports of munitions have been suspended. He further stated that any future exports will now require special permits and that currently “everything” is being redirected to supply Serbia’s own military forces.
This marks the second time in recent weeks that Russia has publicly accused Serbia of arming Ukraine. In late May, the SVR published a separate report alleging that Serbian companies had exported 100,000 rockets and one million rounds of small arms ammunition to Ukraine, using falsified end-user certificates to conceal the true recipient.
While Vučić has denied any direct arms deals between Belgrade and Kyiv, he has acknowledged that Serbian weapons may have reached Ukraine via third countries without the Serbian government’s direct involvement. He has also previously admitted that Serbian arms producers have exported hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of military equipment, some of which may have ended up in Ukrainian hands.
The accusations from Moscow strike a particularly sensitive chord in Serbia, where much of the population is historically and culturally aligned with Russia. Both nations share Slavic roots and Orthodox Christian traditions, with many Serbs viewing Russia as a “brotherly” nation—further complicating public perception of the controversy.