The BBC told about the recruitment scheme for citizens of Serbia in the Air Force of Russia

The Russian authorities are actively recruiting citizens of Serbia and other Balkan countries to participate in the war in Ukraine. An investigation into this was published by the Russian Service of the BBC. It is confirmed that about a hundred people were recruited, now the scheme that was used to attract mercenaries has been frozen.

It is confirmed that mercenaries from Serbia conclude contracts with the Ministry of Defense and go to war as part of the 106th Airborne Division. The recruitment of Serbs was previously confirmed by the citizens of Serbia, who fought in Donbass since 2014, Dejan Beric and Davor Savicic. “We officially now sign a contract with the Ministry of Defense, we are going through the Krasnogorsk military enlistment office,” said Savichich, in particular.

With reference to sources, the BBC reports that the scheme for registering foreigners through the Krasnogorsk military enlistment office near Moscow was proposed by Roman Karataev, a graduate of the FSB academy, deputy chairman of the government of the Moscow region, head of the regional security department of the region. The leader of the “Night Wolves” biker group Alexander Zaldostanov and the son of the former President of Yugoslavia Slobodan Milosevic, Marko Milosevic, who lives in Russia, are said to be participating in the recruitment.

According to the BBC, Savichic promised to form a full-fledged Serbian brigade in the 106th Airborne Division by the fall of 2023. However, only about a hundred people were able to be appointed, after which the process was frozen, and Savychych has not yet been able to form a full-fledged brigade, – says the rssledovanii. In Serbia, mercenary is a criminal offense.

The Russian authorities allow foreigners to enter into contracts for service in the army, with the emphasis on recruitment being made on citizens of neighboring states. At the same time, President Vladimir Putin denied that foreigners are purposefully recruited into the Russian army, and ruled out, in particular, the recruitment of citizens of North Korea.

Foreigners, including those from outside the post-Soviet countries, were also previously recruited to PMC “Wagner”. There is a known case of the death of a Zambian citizen recruited into this structure.