Educating citizens about the sharing of data on the Internet, where gender-based violence, disinformation and other harmful narratives abound, is a necessity, BIRN’s Internet Freedom Meet conference in Skopje heard.
More than half a million people follow pro-Russian Telegram channels covering the Balkans in Serbian and Russian languages. Followers are being urged to donate military equipment to Russia and join military units composed of citizens of Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina on the Ukrainian frontline, Detektor’s analysis shows.
This month, we bring you the story of how we discovered the identity of a man from the town of Modrica who, despite a legal ban, went to fight for the Russian army as it destroys Ukrainian towns one by one and kills civilians.
A Bosnian Serb former martial arts fighter has been posting videos and pictures online, documenting his new life as a volunteer soldier with a Russian unit fighting in Ukraine. BIRN was able to track his posts, following his journey to the frontline.
The president of the Military Trade Union of Serbia, Novica Antic, is under investigation in Serbia for embezzlement. He maintains close ties with people connected to the regime of Vladimir Putin, while also maintaining contacts in European security circles and veterans in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Modelled on a similar project in Sarajevo, the War Childhood Museum in Kyiv documents Ukrainian children’s memories of their everyday life during the ongoing invasion.
On the 31st anniversary of the abduction and execution of 20 non-Serb passengers seized from a train in Strpci in Bosnia during wartime, victims’ relatives expressed discontent about alleged perpetrators’ recent acquittals in Serbia.
The small town of Hostomel, close to Kyiv, took centre stage in early 2022 during the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine. Countless war crimes committed by the Russian army against the residents of Hostomel are currently under investigation and part of court proceedings. One such investigation was initiated by Lazer Taras, a local documentary filmmaker who told the Detektor team his story in the very street where Russian soldiers killed his neighbours.
Two years after the start of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, people in Kyiv and the surrounding areas say they feel forgotten by the international public after the global focus shifted towards Gaza. But despite the persistent hardships, they insist they won’t succumb to conflict fatigue.
This month we mark the second anniversary of the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and our crew has a report from Kyiv about how the local population is struggling to keep morale high and about the consequences of enduring such a long period of terror.