Report: Serbia apparently supports Ukraine despite close ties with Russia
Serbia, despite its opposition to sanctions against Russia, appears to have shipped arms to Ukraine, or at least agreed to do so, according to a classified US Defense Department document. This comes from a summary of responses by European governments to Ukraine’s requests for military training and weapons. The letter is among dozens of classified documents released in recent weeks in the worst leak of US government data in years. The information about Serbia is politically explosive because the government in Belgrade has traditionally maintained close relations with Russia and, despite the EU accession process, is not participating in the sanctions imposed for the attack on Ukraine.
The listing shows that Serbia refused to train the Ukrainian armed forces, but agreed to supply weapons. It was also said that Serbia has the political will and military capabilities to supply arms to Ukraine in the future. The document is marked secret, which prohibits disclosure to foreign intelligence services and the military. It is dated March 2 and bears the seal of the Office of the US Chiefs of Staff. The Reuters news agency could not independently verify the authenticity of the document.
The office of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and the Ukrainian embassy did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Moscow government asked Serbia in March for an official explanation for the alleged deliveries, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said, according to the state news agency TASS. Janusz Bugajski, Eastern Europe expert at the Jamestown Foundation foreign policy institute, said: “If this document is correct, it either shows Vucic’s duplicity towards Russia or he is under enormous pressure from Washington to supply arms to Ukraine.”