Sanctioned from Using Russian Oil & Gas, Serbian Military Procures Firewood for Heating

Facing American sanctions from using Russian oil and gas, the Serbian Ministry of Defense (MoD) have resorted to using firewood to keep its bases warm during the harsh winter months.

On January 17, Minister of Defence Bratislav Gašić signed an agreement for supplying the Serbian Armed Forces units deployed in the Ground Safety Zone with firewood with a local firm, PE “Srbijašume”.

The agreement specifies the procurement of first-class firewood, which "Srbijašume" will be providing starting from the 2025/26 heating season.

Serbia has been threatened with secondary sanctions over Russian ownership of its main oil and gas company.

The agreement to procure firewood comes a week after the January 10 U.S. sanctions Serbia's Naftna Industrija Srbije (NIS), which is majority-owned by Russia's Gazprom and Gazprom Neft.

"These are the most severe sanctions ever affecting a company in Serbia," Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić told a press conference on January 11. The U.S. sanctions, announced "They are asking us for a complete exit of Russian interests," he said. "They do not even allow the possibility of a 49 percent stake, but demand a complete exit from NIS."

Following the U.S. sanctions, Azerbaijan has abruptly halted its supply of gas to Serbia leaving Belgrade with few heating optiions to survive the winter.

"I got information from our Azerbaijani brothers and friends that because of a force majeure and problems they have, we as of today cannot count on the 1.7 million cubic meters of gas that was coming into our country every day," Vučić was quoted as saying.