It was presented to the public on December 9, after those involved repeatedly denied its existence. Russian parastatal network of mercenaries and intelligence agents Wagner already has a declared physical presence. SerbianIn the cities of Belgrade and Nisthrough what he calls local “inhabitants”: through the Serbian far-right group “Eagles”, who, among other things, demand the liberation of the province of Kosovo.
The activist-led group itself and Serbian propagandist of the Russian cause Alexander Lysov, celebrated on social networks during this month of December. Playing with the white, blue, and red colors typical of the flags of Russia and Serbia, it was time to present the Eagles’ new promotional logo to the public – both exist, but placed in a different order. and with The propaganda parallelism turned into a slogan: Donbas-Russia, Kosovo-Serbia.
Lysov is passing through Donbas these days. Acting almost like a reporter on the street, he showed on his social networks the effects of the Ukrainian bombings on the cities of the Donetsk province. And he took advantage of this trip to hug and give one of those flags to his colleague. pro-Russian nationalist Alexei Zhigulin in the region.
Scene recorded in home video and low light, Russian foreign action in Serbiaand one of the missions of the new Wagner center in Serbian territory: to provide Russia’s support in the Balkans for its invasion of Ukraine in exchange for support of Serbian nationalism in its melancholy, painful and still very lively claim over Kosovo.
Against the “Liberals”
Wagner’s face in Serbia is in the form of a fraternity club. Its name does not allude to the mercenary company of the oligarch, called the Russian-Serbian Information Cultural Center for Friendship and Cooperation. “Kremlin cook”, Yevgeny Prigozhin. But Wagner promotes it as another local office between franchise and semi-franchise network. In his congratulatory message on Telegram channels on December 9, Wagner describes it as part of a “public diplomacy practice”.
NATO countries, especially the Balkan countries – Albania, Slovenia, Croatia, Montenegro and Bulgaria – have reason to feel that the possible effects of this diplomacy are implied. but there a previous, priority taskThe Wagner group in Serbia thinks this, and it’s internal, not external: to present war to Putin’s dissident Russians.
Belgrade and Niš are cities with important colonies of Russian citizens; and among them, those who seek Escape from Vladimir Putin’s regimewhat they have as a so-called dictatorship. Wagner and his Serbian allies plan to wage an information and disinformation war: In search of “informative confrontation with Russian liberals” “Those who went to Serbia and tried to engage in anti-Russian activities in order to discredit Russia and worsen relations between the Russian-Serbian peoples,” the statement said.
In common, they could not have chosen any closer to the ultra-nationalist and Slavic group that encouraged the establishment of churches in central Belgrade. One size of the Russian “Holy Prince” Alexander Nevsky, governor of Novgorod and Kyiv, armed wing against the Swedes and Germans in the 13th century. Leader of the Popular Patrols and far-right politician blows over his activities Damjan Knezevic.
There is another unannounced mission that the Westerners are pursuing in the region: the recruitment and enlistment of Serbian volunteers to assist the pro-Russians in Donetsk and Luhansk is not excessive at the moment. Members of foreign brigades in their ranks as fighters against the Ukrainian army.
Kosovo confidants reported this selective recruitment to various intelligence services of the Atlantic Alliance countries through the Wagner filter. Serbia is a the neutrality that NATO celebrates; but it is military, not ideological.
Spanish military sources confirm the delicate situation on the Serbia-Kosovo border, as there – or behind the Baltic republics – could trigger a very destabilizing warming in the spring, depending on the course of the war. Ukraine