Ukraine’s General Prosecutor’s Office has launched an investigation into 54 suspected members of a pro-Russian foreign legion – including several Serbs – who took part in attacks on Ukraine’s forces in the east of the country from 2014 on, Radio Free Europe has reported.
A report published by Radio Free Europe on Wednesday said Ukraine was investigating a far-right group of 54 pro-separatist fighters – including six Serbs – who took part in attacks on Ukrainian forces in the regions of Donetsk and Lugansk from July 2014 onwards.
The 54 illegal fighters were all allegedly part of a foreign legion called the “Unité Continentale”, [Continental brigade], the RFE report said.
A document from the Ukrainian Prosecutor’s Office, cited by RFE, lists six Serbs among the group of 54 paramilitaries – who include 10 Italian nationals and 21 fighters from Spain.
The six Serbs include Radomir Pocuca, a former special police spokesperson, who over several months of fighting in Ukraine posted regular videos, photos and other entries related to his time in Donetsk. Pocuca was arrested on his return in Serbia and given an 18-month conditional jail sentence in 2016.
Among others on the list is the self-proclaimed commander of Serbian “Chetnik” paramilitary forces, Bratislav Zivkovic, who was expelled from Romania in November 2017, for alleged spying.
The Romanian Intelligence Service, SRI, said Zivkovic had fought in the Crimea in 2014-2015 in support of Russia’s intervention there, and had also been active in rebel-held parts of eastern Ukraine in Donetsk and Lugansk.
Zivkovic was banned from entering Romania for 15 years for spying on NATO military bases in southeast Romania and for showing interest in obtaining classified information on military installations.
“Romania has banned my entry for the next 15 years because of the fear of their secret service that I could jeopardize their national security,” Zivkovic wrote on Facebook then.
He insisted that there was no evidence that he had actually spied in Romania because, according to him, the state would have launched a court case against him.
For more read the full of article at The Balkaninsight
