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Serbias president Vucic has recently declared they will engage in arms deals with Israel, which indirectly allows and contributes to more war crimes and atrocities in Gaza against Palestinians. As if Serbias military and church elite haven’t committed enough war crimes, particularly in the last crusades, where Serbian troops, blessed by Orthodox priests, massacred 140 000 Albanians, Bosniaks and Croats, and raped 50 000 women.
Serbia also continues to play on both sides in the Ukraine-Russia war. Analysts call this phenomena “stabilocracy”. An ideology where Serbian machiavelianists tries to trick everyone; the EU, the West, America, Russia, Ukraine, etc. Having built up illegal enclaves in Albanian territoies, in Bosnia and in Croatia, Serbia has become the headquarters in the Balkans for organized crime, arms smuggling, terrorism, drugs and other similar crimes.
Put simply; Serbias military and church elite continue with an imaginable savage and toxic irredentism. During the last Serbian aggressions against Albanians where Serbian fascists killed 12 000 Albanians, Orthodox priests allowed for Serbian war criminals and Russian mercenaries to hide in Serbian Orthodox monasteries and churches. This should not surprise anyone, because already in 1912 did Serbian Orthodox priests participate in the Balkan War where they committed many atrocities against Albanian civilians.
The last delusional, dangerous and despicable decision in Serbia for the “military honouring” of Serbian fascist and war criminal Ratko Mladic is evidence that a deeply disturbing, dangerous and extremist culture still lurks in the Serbian collective unconscious. Serbian children are seen posing together with books written by sentenced Serbian war criminals, and this is considered normal. War criminals who raped and killed children and women.
The truth of the matter is that Serbia – with its current military, political and church elite – combined with a delusional irredentist Chetnik culture, which sadly attracts some young Serbs, is a threat to humanity and to the world.
We must remember that the same narcissistic, irredentist and imperialist Serbian culture gave birth to Gavrilo Princip who murdered the Archduke of Austria Franz Ferdinand and his wife. This started World War One, where 15–22 million died (including 9–11 million military deaths and 6–13 million civilian deaths), 21–23 million military personnel were wounded, and around 6 million went missing.
We also must remember that Serbia started the last wars against its neighbors where Belgrad savagely and delusionally thought they could stop the liberty and freedom of several autonomous populations who had been suppressed and oppressed by Serbias military elite for 50 years. We all saw what happened – NATO had to bomb Belgrad, which shook Serbia up a little, and taught the fascists of Serbia that committing genocide does not come without consequences.
Even though some extremist Serbs “take pride” in knowing that they managed to shoot down an American fighter jet – as if that would ever be relevant. They also tend to mention about “Serbian casualties” which are minimal, but refuse in any way to mention the 140 000 massacred Bosniaks, Croats and Albanians which Serbias fascists murdered between 1991 and 1999. To this day, these fascists refuse to be held ackountable, and Belgrad refuses to pay either for war reparations nor for the insane damage that Serbia caused the entire Balkans.
Just a few years ago, Serbian terrorists assaulted an Albanian police officer in Banjska, and investigations showed the terrorists – who fled the scene when Albanian SWAT teams retaliated – had connections to “powerful people in Belgrad”. The same fascists and irredentist Serbian cancer which had started the Yugoslav Was, and prior to that World War One, can be once again seen in this tragedy.
Decades of trying to reason with Vucic and his little club has shown that there is no negotiating with Serbias military elite, as they are most likely narcissistic fanatics, who still delusionally believe in the “Greater Serbia” project – meaning they simply must invade Bosnia, Croatia, Macedonia and even Albanian lands – and even that isnt enough. Serbia must expand at all costs, no matter which world wars are started.
World War 2
It goes without saying that Serbias extremist Chetnik paramilitaries committed some of the most appalling atrocities of World War 2 – they killed 50 000 Bosniaks and tens of thousands of Albanians. The Serbian chetniks also collaborated with the Nazis in the hunting of Jews and Hebrews of Serbia. Something some Serbian activists refuse to mention or talk about. The goal was the same as in 1912 as in 1990; Greater Serbia. This meant that all Bosniaks and Croats had to be ethnically cleansed.
Serbian mercenaries in Ukraine
It has been reported that Serbian paramilitary mercenaries have been traveling to Ukraine to fight along side Russian forces.
Facts
Number of Serbian combatants: Around 2018–2019, Ukrainian authorities estimated that approximately 300 Serbian citizens were fighting for Russian-backed separatists in the Donbas. Following the full-scale invasion in 2022, Russian networks have continued recruiting in Serbia.
Integration into Russian units: Most Serbs do not fight in distinct national armies but have been integrated into Russian paramilitary structures such as the Wagner Group, Redut PMC, or international brigades like Pyatnashka.
Specific criminal investigations: The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and prosecutors are pursuing specific war crimes investigations against individual Serbian commanders. One example is Davor Savičić (a Serbian citizen with a background in paramilitary groups from the former Yugoslavia), who has led the Russian sabotage and reconnaissance unit Volki (The Wolves).
His unit has been accused of participating in the occupation and abuses in the Zhytomyr and Kyiv regions during 2022; however, specific death tolls directly linked to the personal actions of him or other Serbs are generally classified during ongoing investigations or are impossible to ascertain on the battlefield.
Serbias arms deal with Israel is a tragedy for Gaza
Serbia’s arms exports to Israel have surged drastically during the ongoing war, making Belgrade one of Israel’s most critical and material military partners in Europe. This trade pipeline has direct, operational consequences for the warfare on the ground in Gaza. Here is how the defense relationship has materialized and impacted the conflict:
Direct Material Support for the Gaza Bombardment
The most immediate consequence of the deal is the sustained supply of artillery ammunition and shells, which are vital to the Israel Defense Forces’ (IDF) heavy shelling campaigns in Gaza.
Explosive Export Growth
According to official data from the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia, arms exports to Israel were worth only €1.4 million in 2023. By the end of 2024, they shot up to over €42 million. Under 2025, they hit a record high of €114 million ($131.1 million)—a near 40-fold increase since the conflict began.
Active Air Bridge
Joint investigations by Haaretz and the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN) tracked a dedicated logistics chain. In 2024, 19 Israeli military cargo flights transported weapons from Belgrade. This doubled to 38 cargo flights in 2025, with planes landing directly at Israel’s Nevatim airbase.
A Vital Supply Lifeline: President Aleksandar Vučić revealed that Israel contacted Belgrade the evening after the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks, urgently requesting ammunition. Serbia bypassed standard administrative timelines to collect and approve the licenses within four days, providing immediate replenishment for IDF stockpiles.
A Strategic “Backdoor” Around Western Embargoes
As casualties in Gaza escalated, several European nations (such as Spain and Slovenia) implemented strict restrictions, transit bans, or total embargoes on weapons sales to Israel over humanitarian concerns.
By consistently keeping its supply lines open, Serbia has acted as a sanctions-proof backdoor for Israel in Europe. Even after Vučić publicly claimed in June 2025 that defense exports would halt, data showed shipments quietly continued, with 14 military cargo flights organized in the first two months of 2026 alone. This buffer has effectively cushioned Israel against Western diplomatic pressure and attempts to restrict its ammunition access.
The “Ammo for Technology” Trade-Off
The weapons pipeline is built on a reciprocal arrangement: Serbia exports raw ammunition to fuel the Gaza campaign in exchange for sophisticated Israeli military technology.
Advanced Acquisitions
Serbia secured major billion-dollar contracts with Israel’s defense giant Elbit Systems, acquiring PULS rocket artillery and Hermes 900 combat drones.
Joint Drone Manufacturing
In April 2026, President Vučić announced that Serbia and Israel will jointly manufacture combat drones on Serbian soil. This provides Israel with an insulated production base in Europe, ensuring that weapon designs tested and developed in the Gaza theater are integrated directly into long-term industrial manufacturing.
International Legal and Ethical Backlash
UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese heavily criticized Belgrade, explicitly calling Serbia “one of Israel’s strongest and most determined allies, without any shame,” and warned that exporting lethal weapons amidst the high civilian death toll in Gaza constitutes a breach of international law. While the trade has faced ethical pushback from human rights groups and small domestic pro-Palestine movements in Belgrade, the Serbian government maintains that the exports are an untouchable driver of national economic and military advancement.
Where do Serbia arms go to?
The illicit trafficking of weapons involving Serbia is a major component of global and European organized crime networks. The illicit trade operates on two distinct levels: small-scale smuggling of leftover military stock from the 1990s Yugoslav Wars by criminal syndicates, and state-adjacent “grey-market” operations run by sanctioned international arms dealers.
The European Route: Leftovers of the Yugoslav Wars
According to Europol and the Serbian Ministry of Interior’s Serious and Organized Crime Threat Assessment (SOCTA), Serbia is primarily a transit and source hub for illegal weapons flowing into Western Europe and Scandinavia.
The Supply Chain
Small arms and light weapons (SALW)—such as zastava rifles, polymer pistols, and hand grenades—are accumulated from stockpiles left behind from the Balkan conflicts.
The “Ant Trade” Method
Unlike drugs, which move in massive bulk shipments, weapons are typically smuggled across European borders using the “ant trade” method—hidden in small quantities inside personal vehicles, commercial trucks, passenger buses, or disguised shipments.
The Routes into the EU
Smuggling syndicates predominantly move weapons north through the Horgoš and Kelebija border crossings into Hungary, or west through Batrovci into Croatia. From there, they spread into Germany, France, and Sweden.
Barter Systems with Drug Cartels
Europol operations have exposed sophisticated cross-border swaps. For instance, a major network dismantled in Western Europe was caught exchanging Balkan firearms directly for Spanish cannabis, connecting Serbian weapons networks natively to Western European street gangs.
Global Networks: The State-Adjacent “Grey Market”
On a global scale, the issue stems from legal or semi-legal Serbian arms manufacturers whose products are intentionally diverted into conflict zones. The central figure in this global trade is Slobodan Tesic, one of the most notorious arms dealers in the Balkans.
Sanctions Evasion: Tešić has spent years on U.S. and UK sanctions lists for illicit arms trafficking, yet his web of shell companies continues to move tens of millions of dollars in weaponry globally.
High-Level Political Facilitation: According to U.S. Treasury investigations, Tešić’s illicit operations were actively facilitated by Aleksandar Vulin, the former head of Serbia’s intelligence agency (BIA), who used his state position to help Tešić move illegal shipments across international borders.
Diverting Weapons to Conflict Zones: Investigations by human rights groups like Amnesty International have tracked Serbian-manufactured weapons (such as those from the state-owned Krušik and Zastava factories) showing up in the hands of armed militia groups in the Sahel region of Africa (including Mali and Burkina Faso) and various factions in the Middle East. These weapons are often exported legally to a dummy third-party country before being illegally re-routed. [4, 11, 12]
Recent Legal Crackdowns and Reforms
Under intense pressure from the European Union, which views Balkan firearms as a direct threat to its internal security, Serbia has been forced to take legislative action:
Criminal Code Revisions: Backed by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Serbia updated its Criminal Code to impose harsher penalties for the illegal possession, altering, and trafficking of firearms. [1]
Border Taskforces: Border security initiatives (such as Project Hermes) have integrated satellite and advanced tracking technologies to intercept weapons shipments before they exit the Western Balkans.
Conclusion
Reading this all leads to one eventual conclusion: Serbias military and church elite is a serious problem not only to the Balkans, but to Europe and even the entire world. Because if Aleksandar Vucic and his hilk of greedy Serbian irredentist neo-imperialists, part of the project “Serbian World” – which is just a euphemism for Greater Serbia – can enable Israeli atrocities in Gaza indirectly through arms deals – what is to say that this cannot be used in other conflicts?
Sources
Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN). 2026. “Investigating the Serbia-Israel Military Logistical Chain.” BIRN Research Reports, January 14, 2026. eu.com.
Deutsche Welle (DW). 2023. “Serbian, Croatian Volunteers Fight on Ukraine’s Front Line.” Deutsche Welle, February 14, 2023.
Elbit Systems. 2026. “Global Defense Collaborations and Drone Systems Technology.” Corporate Press Releases. https://elbitsystems.com.
Haaretz. 2026. “Flight Tracking Discloses Surge in Serbian Cargo Shipments to Nevatim Airbase.” Haaretz, February 28, 2026. haaretz.com.
Ukrainska Pravda. 2026. “Ukraine’s Security Service and Intelligence Gather Evidence of Russian Sabotage Unit Led by Serbian Citizen.” Ukrainska Pravda, May 26, 2026.
VSquare. 2024. “Donbass Brothers: How Serbian Fighters Were Deployed in Ukraine.” VSquare Investigation Reports, March 12, 2024.
