Serbia continues to straddle two seats: that of ‘democracy’ and the defense of Russia, which is waging a terrible war on Ukraine. While he remains a good friend and supporter of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Vučić simultaneously supplies Ukraine with weapons, as reported by the Financial Times.
Serbia’s participation in the ammunition traffic to Ukraine is sufficiently hidden, so much so that official data do not reflect this, according to diplomats and analysts. The Financial Times has published information that Serbia has indirectly, through other countries, exported grenades worth 800 million euros to Ukraine since the beginning of Russia’s invasion of Kyiv.
The newspaper writes that Serbia is discreetly increasing its sale of ammunition to the West, thereby strengthening Ukraine’s defense, although it is one of only two European countries that did not join Western sanctions against Russia.
Vučić has confirmed that the information about the value of the ammunition is mostly accurate, presenting the sales as a business opportunity.
“This is part of our economic revival and important for us. Yes, we export our ammunition. We cannot export to Ukraine or Russia, but we have many contracts with the Americans, Spaniards, Czechs, others. What they do with it in the end is their business,” Vučić said.
He even added that he knows where the shells go and that it is not his concern.
“My job is to ensure that we do business with our ammunition legally, to sell it. We need to take care of our people, and that’s it. That’s all I can say. We have friends in Kyiv and Moscow. These are our Slavic brothers,” Vučić said.
When asked if the figure was roughly accurate, he said it was about profits realized over a two to three-year period, not one.
Vučić has resisted Western pressure to adopt a sanctions regime against Russia and has allowed Russian flights to continue, although he says he is committed to his country becoming an EU member.
“Europe and the USA have been working for years to distance Vučić from Putin,” said a Western diplomat, adding that the main player is American Ambassador Christopher Hill, who arrived in Belgrade a month after the start of the Russian invasion.
Vučić said that Serbia has a golden opportunity because its weapons are cheaper than those in the West and added that the volume of total Serbian ammunition exports could increase.
According to diplomats and analysts, Serbia’s participation in the ammunition traffic to Ukraine is sufficiently hidden so that official data do not reflect it. The Kiel Institute for the World Economy, which monitors support for Ukraine, has not directly tracked Serbia’s activities and has not found systematic evidence of Belgrade’s contribution, said Christoph Trebesch.
