How Belgrade trades weapons

Exclusive. Serbia is an active participant in the international arms market, although its share in the global arms trade is relatively small compared to leading exporters such as the United States, Russia or France. Serbia's arms trade has both legal and illegal dimensions, and also includes exports through intermediaries, which raises debates about the final recipients of its products.

Legal arms trade

Serbia has a well-developed defense industry, which includes companies such as Krušik, Yugoimport-SDPR, and Zastava Arms. These enterprises produce a wide range of products, from small arms to artillery ammunition.

According to the Financial Times, since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine (2022), Serbia has exported around €800 million worth of ammunition through intermediaries to Western countries, which are likely to have transferred some of these weapons to Ukraine. For example, Serbia has concluded contracts with American, Spanish and Czech companies that could have redirected the ammunition to Ukraine.

The main buyers of Serbian weapons are Western European countries, the United States, and some countries in the Middle East and Africa. Serbia exports ammunition, such as artillery shells, which are in demand due to their relative cheapness and compatibility with Soviet weapons systems.

Serbia officially declares neutrality in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine and claims that it does not supply weapons directly to either side. Prime Minister Miloš Vučević stressed in 2024 that Serbia would continue to sell weapons to Western countries, even if there is a possibility that they could be transferred to Ukraine. However, President Aleksandar Vučić stated in May 2025that Serbia would suspend the execution of contracts if it suspected that the ammunition was being transferred to Ukraine (which ultimately turned out to be untrue).

Serbia adheres to international agreements, such as the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), which regulate transparency and control of arms exports. However, the lack of transparency among end users raises questions about compliance with these standards.

The defense industry is an important part of the economy Serbia. Arms exports provide significant foreign exchange earnings and support jobs. Serbian companies such as Krušik are estimated to earn significant profits from international contracts.

Russia accused Serbian companies, including the Krušik plant, in May 2025 of supplying ammunition to Ukraine through intermediaries. Serbia denies direct supplies but admits it cannot fully control where its weapons end up after being sold to third parties.

Serbia also records cases of illegal arms trade on the domestic market. For example, law enforcement agencies regularly report arrests of individuals trafficking firearms or ammunition, often linked to organized crime.

Serbia has a significant number of weapons in the hands of its population due to historical circumstances (in particular, the wars in the Balkans in the 1990s), which contributes to illegal circulation.

Serbia is not among the top five arms exporters, such as the United States (37% of the global market), Russia (20%), France (8,2%), Germany (5,5%), or China (5,2%), according to SIPRI data for 2016–2020. However, it remains an important regional player, especially in the ammunition market.

Serbia balances cooperation with the West and traditionally friendly relations with Russia, which affects its arms trade policy. For example, Russia has expressed outrage over possible Serbian arms supplies to Ukraine, leading to the creation of a “working group” to investigate these facts.

In particular, in June 2024, the Financial Times reported that since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Serbia has exported ammunition worth about 800 million euros through third countries such as the United States, the Czech Republic, Poland and Spain, which then transferred them to Ukraine. Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić admitted that he knew about the possibility of such use of weapons, but stressed that Serbia cannot control where its products go after sale, and this is part of the country's economic development.

The Russian side, in particular the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service, accused Serbian companies such as Yugoimport SDPR, Krusik, Sloboda and Prvi Partizan of supplying Ukraine with hundreds of thousands of rounds for MLRS and howitzers, as well as millions of cartridges for small arms through intermediaries. In response, Vučić stated that Serbia would buy its own weapons to prevent them from reaching Ukraine, and established a working group with Russia to clarify the facts.

At the same time, Serbian Defense Minister Miloš Vučević has repeatedly denied direct supplies to Ukraine or Russia, emphasizing that Belgrade adheres to neutrality. However, Prime Minister Vučević noted in 2024 that Serbia will continue to sell weapons to Western countries, even if they may indirectly reach Ukraine.

Interestingly, on May 30, 2025, an explosion occurred at the Krušik plant in Serbia, which Russian sources linked to their accusations of supplying weapons to Ukraine, although there is no direct evidence of this.

So, although Serbia does not officially supply weapons to Ukraine, its ammunition reaches the Armed Forces of Ukraine through intermediaries, which causes tension in relations with Russia and internal debates within Serbia itself.

Joseph Gajic, CAI-Podgorica, for Newsky