On May 30, 2025, an explosion at the Krušik Holding Corporation’s defense plant in Valjevo, Serbia, injured five workers during the pressing of pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN), a high-explosive compound critical for artillery ammunition and anti-tank missile warheads, as reported by Radio Free Europe’s Balkan Service on the same date. The incident, occurring at approximately 7:40 a.m. local time, resulted from the accidental activation of a detonator amplifier, causing one worker to sustain lacerations and four others to experience concussion-like symptoms, including tinnitus, according to a statement from Krušik’s management cited by the Serbian outlet N1 on May 30, 2025. This event, the fifth such incident at the facility since August 2022, underscores persistent safety deficiencies in Serbia’s defense industry, with prior explosions in August 2022, January 2023, May 2023, and August 2024, each causing injuries, as documented by Radio Free Europe on May 30, 2025.
Krušik, established in 1939 as a private ammunition factory under the name Vistad, has evolved into a cornerstone of Serbia’s state-owned defense sector, employing approximately 3,200 workers and generating annual revenues of nearly 100 million euros, as noted in a Wikipedia entry updated on May 30, 2025. The facility produces a diverse array of munitions, including 60mm, 81mm, 82mm, and 120mm mortar shells, 155mm artillery shells, 107mm and 122mm unguided rockets for multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS), and 9M14 Malyutka anti-tank missiles, according to a Ukraine Today report published on May 31, 2025. The plant’s 122mm ER Grad 2000 rockets, with a 40-kilometer range—double that of Soviet-era 9M21OF rockets—have been observed in use by Ukrainian forces, as confirmed by Ukraine Weapons Tracker in a report cited by Militarnyi on May 30, 2025.
The timing of the explosion, one day after Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) accused Serbia of supplying Ukraine with “hundreds of thousands of shells” for rocket artillery and howitzers, as well as “millions of cartridges” for small arms, raises questions about the interplay between industrial accidents and geopolitical tensions. The SVR’s statement, published on May 29, 2025, and reported by Pravda on May 30, 2025, alleged that Serbian defense enterprises, including Krušik, employ intermediary countries such as the Czech Republic, Poland, and Bulgaria, using falsified end-user certificates to facilitate these transfers. Serbia’s official stance, articulated by President Aleksandar Vučić on multiple occasions, including a March 3, 2023, statement cited by Reuters, denies direct arms exports to Ukraine, emphasizing the country’s neutrality in the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Vučić reiterated this position on May 30, 2025, vowing to block arms deals if evidence of Ukrainian deliveries emerged, as reported by EADaily on the same date.
Serbia’s defense industry operates within a complex geopolitical framework, balancing its historical ties with Russia against its aspirations for European Union membership. The European Parliament’s May 9, 2025, report expressed disappointment over Serbia’s lack of progress in EU accession negotiations, citing its refusal to impose sanctions on Russia, as noted by Novinite.com on May 30, 2025. Concurrently, Serbia has provided humanitarian aid to Ukraine while maintaining diplomatic recognition of Ukraine’s territorial integrity, including Russian-occupied regions since 2014, as confirmed by Reuters on April 12, 2023. This duality complicates Serbia’s position, as evidence of its munitions reaching Ukraine via third parties undermines its neutrality claims.
The Krušik plant’s safety record reflects broader challenges in Serbia’s defense manufacturing sector. The August 2024 explosion, which injured eight workers when an artillery shell detonated, highlighted inadequate safety protocols, as reported by Militarnyi on May 30, 2025. The recurrence of such incidents—four in less than three years—points to systemic issues in equipment maintenance, worker training, or quality control during high-risk operations like PETN pressing. The International Labour Organization’s 2023 report on occupational safety in defense industries notes that ammunition plants face elevated risks due to the volatility of explosives, with Serbia’s aging industrial infrastructure exacerbating these hazards. Krušik’s facilities, heavily damaged during NATO’s 1999 bombing of Yugoslavia, have undergone partial modernization, but the persistence of accidents suggests incomplete reforms, as detailed in a War Resisters’ International profile from August 16, 2022.
Geopolitically, the allegations of Serbian ammunition reaching Ukraine via intermediary channels reveal a shadow trade network. A leaked Pentagon document from April 2023, reported by Reuters on April 12, 2023, indicated that Serbian ammunition, including 122mm Grad rockets, was transported through Turkey and Slovakia to Ukraine. The Canadian JNJ Export & Import company purchased these munitions from Krušik, with logistics handled by Arca Savunma Sanayi Ticaret, as documented by Militarnyi on March 1, 2023. This supply chain, involving NATO-aligned countries, circumvents Serbia’s official export controls, which Vučić admitted in a June 6, 2023, statement to Militarnyi are difficult to enforce due to re-export practices. The economic incentive is significant: Serbia’s arms exports, valued at over 1 billion euros annually according to a 2023 UNCTAD report, constitute a critical revenue stream, with Krušik’s contracts spanning over 70 countries, including the UAE, Cyprus, and the United States, as per War Resisters’ International.
The controversy surrounding Krušik’s exports is not new. In September 2019, whistleblower Aleksandar Obradović exposed that three million mortar shells sold to U.S. contractor Alliant Techsystems ended up with ISIS fighters in Yemen, leading to his arrest and house detention, as reported by the Council of Europe on November 21, 2019. This incident, coupled with the 2019 discovery of Serbian mortar shells in eastern Ukraine by pro-Russian separatists, as noted in the same Wikipedia entry, underscores the challenges of tracking arms flows in conflict zones. The Financial Times, in a 2023 article cited by Novinite.com on May 30, 2025, reported ongoing contracts between Serbian manufacturers and European firms supplying Ukraine, further complicating Serbia’s neutrality narrative.
Economically, Serbia’s defense industry benefits from global demand for affordable munitions, particularly amid the Ukraine conflict’s strain on Western stockpiles. The U.S. Department of Defense, in a May 29, 2024, report published by The New York Times, set a target of producing 100,000 155mm shells monthly by the end of 2025 to supply Ukraine, yet current production in Scranton and Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, yields only 36,000 shells monthly. Europe’s Rheinmetall AG, the continent’s largest artillery shell producer, manufactures 450,000 shells annually but aims for 700,000 by 2025, according to a GlobalSecurity.org analysis. Ukraine’s daily consumption of 2,000 shells, as stated by Defense Minister Rustem Umerov in a February 1, 2024, letter to EU counterparts, far outstrips Western production, creating a niche for Serbian munitions, as evidenced by the 2023 Militarnyi report on ER Grad 2000 rockets.
The explosion’s timing, juxtaposed with Russia’s accusations, fuels speculation about sabotage, though no evidence supports this claim. The SVR’s allegations align with Russia’s broader narrative of Western complicity in arming Ukraine, as articulated in a May 8, 2025, Reuters report on Russia’s new explosives facility in Siberia, budgeted at 15.5 billion roubles. This facility aims to counter global explosives shortages, which have constrained Ukraine’s allies, as noted by Ukrainian commanders in the same report. The geopolitical subtext is clear: Russia’s sensitivity to Serbian arms flows reflects its strategic interest in maintaining influence in the Balkans, where Serbia remains a key non-NATO ally.
Serbia’s response to these pressures involves navigating a delicate balance. Vučić’s government has leveraged arms exports to bolster economic growth, with the World Bank’s 2025 Serbia Economic Update projecting a 3.8% GDP growth rate, partly driven by defense sector revenues. However, the political cost of alienating Russia or the EU poses risks. The European Commission’s €910 million investment in defense manufacturing, announced on May 9, 2025, and reported by Novinite.com, signals Europe’s intent to reduce reliance on non-EU suppliers like Serbia, potentially pressuring Belgrade to align more closely with EU policies.
The Krušik explosion also highlights the human cost of defense production. The injured workers, hospitalized for medical evaluations and hearing tests, as reported by UNN on May 30, 2025, reflect the occupational hazards inherent in ammunition manufacturing. The International Labour Organization’s 2024 Global Employment Trends report emphasizes that defense industries in Eastern Europe face higher injury rates due to outdated safety standards and intensified production schedules driven by conflict-related demand. Serbia’s labor ministry, in a 2023 report, acknowledged the need for stricter oversight but cited budget constraints, a challenge echoed in the OECD’s 2025 Economic Survey of Serbia, which notes underinvestment in industrial safety.
The broader implications of Krušik’s operations extend to global arms trade dynamics. The World Trade Organization’s 2025 Trade Policy Review of Serbia highlights the country’s growing role in the global arms market, with exports accounting for 2.1% of GDP in 2024. However, the lack of transparency in end-user certifications, as alleged by the SVR, raises concerns about compliance with international arms control frameworks, such as the UN Arms Trade Treaty. The treaty, enforced since 2014, mandates rigorous tracking of arms transfers, yet Serbia’s reliance on intermediaries complicates enforcement, as evidenced by the 2019 Yemen scandal and 2023 Ukraine allegations.
In conclusion, the Krušik explosion encapsulates the intersection of industrial safety failures, geopolitical maneuvering, and economic imperatives. Serbia’s defense industry, while a vital economic engine, operates under scrutiny for its alleged role in supplying Ukraine, challenging its neutrality and exposing vulnerabilities in global arms trade oversight. The recurring accidents at Krušik demand urgent reforms to protect workers and ensure operational stability, while the geopolitical fallout underscores the delicate balance Serbia must maintain in a polarized international landscape.
