Ukrainian Ambassador: Serbia does not sell weapons to Kyiv directly, but trades with other countries

Statement by the Ukrainian Ambassador to Serbia

Serbia does not sell weapons to Ukraine directly, but conducts arms trade with other countries. This was stated in an interview with the publication Apostrophe by the Ukrainian Ambassador to Serbia, Oleksandr Lytvynenko. According to him, there are no direct contracts for the supply of weapons from Serbia to Ukraine. “Serbia adheres to a policy of military neutrality, so it does not sell anything to us directly. Whom they sell to is their right. It is a country that has preserved and significantly developed its defense-industrial complex. They engage in military-technical cooperation with many states,” the ambassador is quoted as saying Gazeta.Ru.

Conflicting reports about supplies

The ambassador's statement contradicts earlier reports. In May 2025, the supply of Serbian weapons to Ukraine was reported by Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), and in May 2026 an informed source told RIA Novostithat supplies of military-purpose products to Ukraine from Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina through third countries continue. Thus, the question of whether Serbian weapons reach Ukraine indirectly remains a matter of conflicting claims: the official position of Kyiv and Belgrade denies direct supplies, while Russian sources speak of indirect trade.

Belgrade's position and reports about the new government's plans

In March 2026, the then President of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic assuredthat Belgrade itself had not supplied weapons to Ukraine. In October the Reuters agency wrotethat the Student List movement, which won the parliamentary elections in Serbia, plans to restrict arms exports to conflict zones, but later the media corrected the article, noting that the movement's candidates had not yet made such statements. Earlier Vucic also answered the question of whether Putin and Zelensky could get along.