Serbia is emerging as one of the most quietly consequential players in the evolving European response to Russia’s war on Ukraine. Long seen as a Moscow-leaning outlier in the Balkans, Belgrade is now recalibrating its position through discreet yet significant gestures of support for Kyiv. Behind a façade of neutrality, Serbia is supplying ammunition, offering reconstruction aid, and signaling alignment with the West. This pivot is happening in defiance of mounting Russian pressure and in the face of a domestic population still largely sympathetic to Moscow. The resulting tension is reshaping Serbia’s foreign policy and exposing the limits of its longstanding balancing act. What follows is a closer look at the motivations, methods, and risks behind this shift — and why it matters far beyond the region.

also see

https://www.reuters.com/world/russias-spy-agency-says-serbia-sold-ammunition-ukraine-via-bulgaria-czech-2025-06-23/

https://balkaninsight.com/2025/07/23/destination-ukraine-risking-russian-ire-serbia-clears-transit-of-bosnian-ammo/

According to Bosnian media outlet Klix.ba, the Czech Republic imported more than 30,000 artillery shells from Pretis. Though Pretis is majority-owned by the Bosnian state, US arms firm Regulus Global, which has procured arms and ammunition for Ukraine and previously Syria, holds a 41.5 per cent stake through an offshore company and recently proposed a $100 million upgrade of the company.

Regulus also owns 25.7 per cent of shares in another Bosnian arms manufacturer called Binas d.d, with Regulus CEO Joe Wallis telling Al Jazeera Balkans in July: “We see the chance to build something that serves both the European defence needs and also helps economic growth in Bosnia and Herzegovina.”

With Russia’s war in Ukraine, Wallis said artillery “is back in the centre” of modern warfare.

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Regulus says it has delivered “more than 100,000” 155mm artillery shells to Ukraine, though it is embroiled in a court dispute in London over a $1.7 billion contract to sell such shells to the Ukrainian government, the FT reported in May.