Serbian Defense Ministry Denies Readiness to Supply Weapons to Ukraine

On Wednesday, April 12, the Serbian publication Telegraf reported that the head of the country’s defense ministry, Milos Vucevic, has denied the media's statements about supplying weapons to Ukraine, allegedly contained in secret Pentagon documents that were leaked online.

“We have denied that lie more than ten times, and here we are doing it again,” the minister emphasized. “Serbia has not sold and will not sell weapons to either the Ukrainian or Russian side, or the countries surrounding this conflict.”

He added that reports of Serbia's involvement in the conflict were merely attempts to drag Serbia into the conflict. Vucevic assured that Belgrade only sells weapons to third countries far from the war between Russia and Ukraine.

“There is always a possibility that some weapon may be found in the territory of the conflict, but this has nothing to do with Serbia. This is a matter for countries that do not respect international norms, treaty provisions, and business practices. I repeat, Serbia does not send weapons to Ukraine, and everything published on this topic is false speculation,” the minister stressed.

Reuters previously had reported that Serbia had agreed to supply lethal weapons to Ukraine based on a document supposedly leaked from the US Defense Department. The document, entitled “Europe's response to the Russian-Ukrainian conflict,” revealed the positions of 38 European governments in response to Ukraine's request for military aid.

According to Reuters, Serbia refused to train the Ukrainian military but agreed to supply lethal weapons, or had already done so, based on the leaked document.

Previously, in March, the president of Serbia had already denied any supply of ammunition or weapons to either Ukraine or Russia.