AP: Serbia denies sending military aid to Ukraine

Serbia denied that it supplied Ukraine with 3,500 missiles after the Russian Foreign Ministry expressed its "deepest concerns" over media reports, the Associated Press reported.

According to AP, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that if Serbia had armed Ukraine it would pose a "serious question" about the future of relations between both countries.

Serbian Defense Minister Milos Vucevic refuted reports that Serbia sent missiles to Ukraine, while also admitting the possibility that a third party could have been involved in their transportation.

“If private companies buy weapons in third states’ markets and then sell them to other companies in other countries, that is not a question for Serbia, that is international trade,” he said, as cited by AP.

Serbia and Russia have a long history of close ties, but this is not the first time tensions have risen between both countries due to the war in Ukraine.

On Jan. 17, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic asked Russia to stop recruiting mercenaries in Serbia for the war in Ukraine.

Vucic criticized Russian websites and social media groups that publish recruitment ads by Russian state-backed mercenary company Wagner Group, a private army of tens of thousands which has played a prominent role in Russia's invasion of Ukraine. It is also illegal for Serbian nationals to participate in foreign armed conflicts.

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The Kyiv Independent