Russia in the Balkans Archives

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During a match last weekend, fans of a football club from Bijeljina displayed a banner of a notorious Russian military unit fighting in Ukraine. The Russian military unit, whose members look up to Arkan’s Tigers, thanked the fans on social media for their support. The fans in Bijeljina also called for the secession of Texas from the United States.

We can reveal how a former chief of the Slovak counterintelligence service has found refuge in Bosnia and Herzegovina after serving two-thirds of his prison term. He is the third Slovak security official to have found our country a safe haven from the judicial authorities in their own EU state.

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.

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.

Just before the second anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a Detektor crew visited Kyiv, where the fight against Russian media disinformation is considered part of the war. Experts in the fight against disinformation warn that the intensification of Russian disinformation activity can be a precursor to more aggressive action by Russia, a fact which warrants caution in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

In December, our crew visited the capital of Ukraine and some of the execution sites that have become notorious around the world after the crimes committed there by Russian forces. We’ll be talking about Ukrainians’ efforts to seek justice for war crimes, and about parallels with Bosnia and Herzegovina. 

On the eve of the second anniversary of the full scale Russian invasion, Ukrainians are experiencing feelings that citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina have long been familiar with: the fear of new escalations and destabilisation, the search for justice and the complicating fact that many perpetrators are out of reach, and the feeling that the world has turned its attention elsewhere.

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Serb nationalist and pro-Moscow groups from Bosnia, Serbia and Russia celebrated the controversial Day of Republika Srpska this week with fireworks, militaristic warnings and slogans glorifying war criminals.

Russia in the Balkans

A Russian Thank You for Fans from Bijeljina for Supporting Russian Military

Episode 159: Slovak convicts exchange prison in the EU for villas with swimming pools in Bosnia and Herzegovina

The Russian Ties of Arrested Military Trade Union Leader in Serbia

The Hostomel Filmmaker: Hunt for war criminals with the help of surveillance cameras

After Two Years of War, Ukrainians Struggle to Defy Conflict Fatigue

Episode 158: After Two Years of War, Ukrainians Struggle to Defy Conflict Fatigue

Ukraine’s Experience Combatting Russian Disinformation Urges Caution in BiH

Episode 157: In Ukraine as in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Fear for the Future and Hope for Justice

Echoes of Bosnian war in Ukraine: Fear of the future and a longing for justice

Right-Wingers Hail Mladic and Moscow at Bosnian Serb Celebrations

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