Serbia sends humanitarian aid to Russia's Kursk Oblast worth around $6 million, Moscow claims
Serbia provided financial humanitarian aid worth 472 million rubles ($5.8 million) to Russia's war-affected Kursk Oblast, Russia's Foreign Ministry said on Oct. 9.
While Moscow framed the assistance as "centuries-old brotherhood" and praised "the close ties between our countries and peoples," the move underscores Serbia's ongoing balancing act between its EU aspirations and longstanding ties with Russia.
Ukraine launched the unprecedented offensive into the Russian border in August 2024, taking Russia by surprise and seizing 1,300 square kilometers (500 square miles) in the first few months.
The operation was designed to divert Russian troops from the front in eastern Ukraine and to disrupt Russia's alleged plans to invade Sumy Oblast, a northeastern region bordering Kursk Oblast.
Bolstered by 12,000 North Korean troops, Russia counterattacked this spring, regaining most of the lost territory and advancing into border areas of Sumy Oblast.
According to Ukraine's Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi, Russia has suffered 80,000 soldiers killed and injured during the Kursk operation as of July 2025.
Russia also continues to use Kursk Oblast to launch regular drone attacks on Ukrainian cities.
The Serbian funds were transferred to the Kursk Oblast Development Fund on Oct. 8, the foreign ministry said.
Belgrade has yet to comment on the statement.
The news comes amid ongoing controversy surrounding Serbia's role in the war.
In May, Russian intelligence accused Serbia of supplying weapons to Ukraine — a claim the Balkan country has denied.
A 2024 Financial Times investigation found that Serbian ammunition had reached Ukraine via third-party intermediaries, albeit on both sides of the war.
While Belgrade has maintained humanitarian assistance to Kyiv and pledged support for post-war reconstruction, it has refused to impose sanctions on Moscow, despite being a formal EU candidate since 2012.
Oleg Sukhov
