Serbia Cancels and Postpones Contracts with Russia Due to Weapons Shortage
The Chief of Staff of the Serbian Army, General Milan Mojsilovic, has announced that Serbia will cancel some contracts with Russia and postpone others. This decision is due to the impossibility of procuring weapons from Russia at this time.
According to General Mojsilovic, it is currently impossible for Serbia to receive arms from Russia. Diplomatic efforts are being made to find a solution to this problem. Some contracts have been canceled, while others have been postponed in the hope that the situation will improve soon.
A military analyst, Aleksandar Radic, has criticized the decision to conclude contracts with Russia at the time when it was preparing for an attack on Ukraine. He says that this reflects amateurism in determining foreign policy goals and a superficial analysis of intelligence data.
Radic also expressed concerns about the procurement of spare parts and modernizing Russian weapons acquired before the war in Ukraine. He said, “God help us,” suggesting that Serbia’s leaders did not think ahead about how to maintain these armaments.
The specific contracts and their value are unknown, as this information is considered a military secret. However, Radic has recalled an incident where President Vucic announced that weapons from China were coming just days before the war in Ukraine began. The promised Chinese FK-3 air defense missile system was supposed to arrive by Ukrainian plane.
In recent years, Serbia has signed several contracts with Russia, including the purchase of a Pantsir-S1 air defense system battery, repaired and modernized MiG-29 aircraft, and Russian anti-drone systems like Repellent. However, these procurements have been delayed or canceled due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Radic warned that Serbia’s dependence on Moscow for military equipment is uncertain, and our country relies heavily on Russia.