Serbia becomes a haven for Russian intelligence officers expelled from Europe

After Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, most European states expelled hundreds of Russian diplomats, many of them suspected intelligence officers. Serbia took the opposite course. President Aleksandar Vucic's government did not expel any Russian diplomats and did not join EU sanctions on Moscow, a stance Vucic reiterated publicly, telling reporters in November 2022 that Belgrade would not impose sanctions, as reported by Anadolu Agency. Belgrade has instead sought to preserve its traditionally close ties with Russia even while formally pursuing EU membership.

Rather than shrinking, Russia's official footprint in Serbia grew. A months-long investigation by RFE/RL, published on 13 March 2023, found that the number of accredited Russian diplomats in Serbia rose from 54 in March 2022 to 62, based on diplomatic rosters held by the Serbian Foreign Ministry. The same reporting identified at least three Russians previously expelled by EU states who resurfaced as accredited diplomats in Belgrade, including two with reported links to Russian intelligence. Among them was Aleksei Ivanenko, who received a Belgrade posting and a promotion to first secretary roughly six months after Croatia expelled him in April 2022.

Coverage of Russia's expanding Belgrade mission continued into 2024. European Focus, citing Serbian Foreign Ministry data, reported that staffing rose to 68 diplomats by February 2024. The outlet quoted Belgrade Centre for Security Policy analyst Predrag Petrovic, who said that increasing diplomatic numbers usually signals heightened activity in a country, whether legal or illegal.

The verified pattern is Serbia's non-expulsion and non-sanctions posture, combined with a documented rise in accredited Russian diplomats and the reappearance of operatives ejected elsewhere. The characterisation of Belgrade as a Russian intelligence foothold in the Balkans is an assessment advanced by Western officials and regional security analysts rather than an established fact, and individual diplomats' intelligence roles rest on reporting that should be read as such. What is firmly documented is that, against the broad European trend, Serbia kept its door open to a growing Russian presence, raising Western concern about the country as a regional hub for Russian activity.