"We can see what is being supplied, where and keep track of it. The biggest customers lately have been NATO countries, as well as countries in the Arab world. That's how we found out that Spain was reselling. But they never do it first-hand – from Bosnia and Herzegovina, for example, to Switzerland, and from there to Ukraine. No, they arrange three or four resales," Dodik said.
In March, Stasa Kosarac, Bosnia and Herzegovina's minister of foreign trade and economic relations, asked the country's authorities to inspect the defense companies Pretis and BNT Novi Travnik. At the time, photos of Ukrainian soldiers with Bosnian-made ammunition for 82 and 120 mm mortars appeared on the Internet.
The request for inspection was ignored.
Earlier, Bosnia and Herzegovina's Defense Minister Zukan Helez mentioned in the media that the country had started the production of kamikaze drones for delivery to Ukraine, without giving any details. When Security Minister Nenad Nesic was asked to explain which enterprises were in question, he did not answer.
Republika Srpska prevents direct arms supplies from Bosnia and Herzegovina to Ukraine, Milorad Dodik added.
"These factories in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina are controlled by NATO. Recently, the government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, their owner, has agreed to include American funds among the owners. This suggests that they want to develop and strengthen this point. We cannot do much here, just gather information and prevent direct supplies to Ukraine, which is what we are doing," Dodik said.
The Kremlin has consistently warned against continued arms deliveries to Kiev since the start of Russia's military operation in Ukraine in February 2022, saying it would lead to further escalation of the conflict. In April 2022, Russia sent a diplomatic note to all NATO countries on the issue of arms supplies to Ukraine. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has warned that any cargo containing weapons for Ukraine would become a legitimate target for Russian strikes.