Ukrainian authorities accuse Bosnian Serb of war crimes

Ukrainian authorities have started criminal proceedings against the founder of the Russian mercenary unit "Wolves", Davor Savic, originally from Bosnia and Herzegovina.

He is accused of committing war crimes during Russia's war against Ukraine, Ukrinform reports.

Savičič, born in Banovići, a Serb by nationality, fought on the side of the self-proclaimed "Donetsk People's Republic" even before the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Shortly before the start of the aggression, Savičić formed the mercenary battalion "The Wolves".

As reported, the “Wolves” unit took part in combat operations in the Zhytomyr and Kyiv regions in 2022. It was later transformed into a brigade.

The investigation accuses Savich of abusing residents of the Kiev region during the occupation of several parts of the region in February and March 2022.

The Security Service of Ukraine, in cooperation with the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, reportedly gathered evidence against Savicic and officially declared him a suspect on May 22.

Savic lives in the Moscow region.

As previously determined by Radio Free Europe by analyzing the patient database of medical institutions of the Main Military Medical Administration of the Russian Ministry of Defense (GVMPU), Savich is a colonel of the Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation (better known as the GRU).

In January 2023, Radio Free Europe's "System" and "Schemes" research projects came across a large collection of internal documents from one of the "Wolves" units, which fought in the Kiev, Kharkov, and Donetsk regions.

Journalists have determined that the GRU recruitment system, under the auspices of the so-called private military company "Redut", included at least 20 different armed formations.

At least four members of the "Wolves", identified by "System" and "Schemes", were former or active members of the GRU.

It later emerged that Savicic himself, who had previously fought as part of the private military company “Wagner”, also holds the rank of colonel.