
About one hundred Bosnian Serb nationalists demonstrated Saturday in the country’s second-largest city Banjaluka in support of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
Participants waved Russian flags and described Russia’s decision to invade its neighbor as a “legitimate battle to liberate the subjugated [Ukrainian] people.”
“Russia is not at war with Ukraine, it is at war with the dark Euro-Atlantic forces that want to dominate the world and destroy it,” said one protester.
Pro-Russian protests have been rampant in Europe since Moscow invaded Ukraine on February 24.
Larger demonstrations in support of the Kremlin saw thousands of people take to the streets of Serbia’s capital, Belgrade, on March 4, holding placards with the letter Z – now synonymous with occupation – and Russian and Serbian nationalist flags.
The protest in Banjaluka was organized by members of the Night Wolves, a local branch of the Russian motorcycle club that strongly supports President Vladimir Putin.
Putin has repeatedly referred to the group as “friends” and has appeared at their rallies, riding a Harley-Davidson motorcycle. Night Wolves took part in the 2014 invasion of Crimea and the fighting in the Donbas.