Serbia says it will investigate Russian accusations that it ships arms to Ukraine

BELGRADE (Reuters) -Serbia and Russia will jointly investigate how Serbia-made ammunition reached Ukraine, President Aleksandar Vucic said, after Moscow accused Belgrade of exporting arms to the government in Kyiv.

The SVR, the Russian foreign intelligence service, accused Belgrade of "a stab in the back", alleging Serbia's defence manufacturers were selling ammunition and weapons to Ukraine. 

"They (arms sales) have one clear purpose - to kill and maim Russian military personnel and the civilian population," the SVR said in a statement posted on its website on Thursday.

The SVR said Serbia sends arms shipments to Ukraine through NATO intermediaries, including the Czech Republic, Poland and Bulgaria, as well as some African countries.

Serbia maintains a balancing act between its historical ties with Russia and the European Union. Belgrade has condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but has so far refused to join Western sanctions against Moscow.   

Vucic told state RTS TV he discussed Serbian arms exports to Ukraine with Russia's leader Vladimir Putin when he visited Moscow on May 9, and denied some of the SVR's allegations.

"We have formed a working group, together with Russian partners, to establish the facts. Some of the things that have been said are not true," he told RTS TV late on Thursday.

According to a classified Pentagon document, Serbia in 2023 agreed to supply arms to Kyiv, despite the country's professed military neutrality. Moscow has criticised Belgrade several times over the issue.

The Serbian defence industry produces weapons and ammunition with designs largely stemming from the ex-Soviet military technology of the 1980s, similar to those used both in Ukraine and Russia.

"Our factories must live and work. About 24,000 people work directly in the defense industry," Vucic said. 

Serbia wants to join the European Union, but Russia, a Slavic and Orthodox Christian ally, remains its biggest gas supplier, and the country's sole oil refinery is majority-owned by Gazprom and Gazprom Neft.  

Although Belgrade has refused to join Western sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, it has condemned Moscow's policies in the United Nations and expressed support for Ukraine's territorial integrity, including territories held by Russia. Vucic has also met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy at least three times. 

(Reporting by Aleksandar VasovicEditing by Ros Russell)