Zelensky's Belgrade visit spotlights drones, ammunition and Christopher Hill's role

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrives in Belgrade on Saturday (8 August) for a visit that had been planned for some time but repeatedly delayed, officials say. The trip is being framed as mainly economic, but reporting from German outlets suggests defence cooperation — including the prospect of a joint drone-production plant — could figure prominently on the agenda.

According to those reports, talks in Belgrade could cover defence industry projects and ammunition supplies, and funding for a Serbian-based drone facility might come from the United Arab Emirates. Observers note that Serbia remains one of the most Russia-friendly countries in Europe, even as Belgrade deepens ties with Kyiv.

Former US ambassador to Serbia Christopher Hill — who has spoken publicly about linking Serbian suppliers with Ukraine — described how requests from Kyiv were handled early in his tenure.

"At the beginning of my tenure in Belgrade the Ukrainian ambassador came to me with a list of military needs that were urgently required by Ukraine on the battlefield. My team at the embassy checked whether the Serbs were able to fulfil these orders — and they were. The US began supporting the purchase of significant quantities of Serbian ammunition, which we knew Ukraine urgently needed on the battlefield," Hill said.

Hill and others involved understood that cargo routed through Poland or the Czech Republic would likely end up in Ukraine, and Moscow repeatedly warned Belgrade about such transfers — including, reportedly, a personal reproach from President Aleksandar Vučić to Vladimir Putin during a meeting in Beijing.

Monitoring and limits

Hill said the US aimed to ensure Serbia's engagement did not look like war profiteering but rather supported longer-term ties between Serbia and Ukraine. "We invested significant resources to make sure that we know the real state of affairs," he said, and added that there had been no deliveries of Serbian weapons to Russia "at least not to an extent worth mentioning."

The reports also mention Oleksandr Kamyshyn, an adviser to Zelensky tasked with connecting Ukraine's defence industry to European partners; he and his team have reportedly visited Serbia to scout possible production sites for drones and discussed artillery ammunition manufacture as well. Serbian Chamber of Commerce president Marko Čadež says both economies would benefit from closer economic ties, and officials from Kyiv have indicated a free trade agreement could take until early 2027 to finalise.

Photo: EPA-EFE/JULIEN DE ROSA / POOL MAXPPP OUT