Vučić: Serbia to provide Ukraine with generators, transformers worth € 8.4 mn

Speaking to Prva Srpska Televizija on 27 October, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić announced €8.4 million worth of generators and transformers for Ukraine. Additionally, he announced a summit of European leaders next week.

Historically allied with Russia, Serbia has been an EU candidate since 2009, yet most Serbs continue to favor Russia over the EU. Belgrade relies on Moscow to oppose Kosovo’s international recognition and UN membership. Serbia condemned Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine but refuses to join international sanctions against Russia and is is among the countries, aiding Russia to evade EU and G7 sanctions, ISW reported. At the same time, Serbian PM Miloš Vučević defended ammunition sales to Western buyers, potentially supplying Ukraine, saying this doesn’t make Serbia a belligerent in the Russo-Ukrainian war.

President Vučić announced his upcoming participation in the European Political Community summit in Budapest on 7 November.

“I will have the opportunity to speak at the plenary session for the first time after a long time,” he said, noting that other speakers would include Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, French President Emmanuel Macron, and potentially Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen.

“But what should I say and how should I say it to please someone while telling the truth? How can I please someone while telling the truth? And the truth is people – stop the war, stop the war for God’s sake, literally for God’s sake. No one will have anything to eat, no one will have electricity. The situation with electricity is super like that,” Vučić said.

Putin’s speculations and Vučić’s worries

During the interview, Vučić revealed details from his recent conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who, he says, believes that “Ukraine made the biggest mistake around Kursk” and threatens that Ukraine’s “most elite soldiers there” would face losses.

The Serbian president speculated that Western military strategists consider Ukrainian attacks on Russian ammunition depots on the Russian soil “a mistake,” and suggested that Russian reaction to such attacks can range from “a strike somewhere on Ukrainian territory” to “using some new type of weapons” or “a strike on some third[-country] territories,” concluding “That’s why I’m worried.“

Vučić believes that Russia “won’t easily accept a ceasefire without conditions,” emphasizing that neither the West nor Russia could afford to lose, warning “We will all lose. There’s no happiness here.”

On US elections and Zelenskyy

Vučić said he discussed the potential outcomes of the upcoming US elections with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, two most pro-Russian European politicians. He suggested that if Trump wins the presidency and put forward his “war end” plan, “he has leverage and influence on Zelenskyy, there is no doubt. However, Zelenskyy objects or doesn’t object, he’ll have to obey.”

Regarding potential US leadership changes, Vučić noted that if Kamala Harris wins, “she will not maintain a full continuity of Joe Biden’s policies,” adding that Biden was “a known thing,” which “often a very good thing.“

We now have two unknowns coming from the United States. One less known and one more unknown.

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