Mercenaries from Serbia begin military training alongside the Russians in Ukraine

The first Serbian volunteers in the Zaporizhzhya region have started their combat training in the region as part of the Sudoplat Volunteer Battalion, RIA Novosti reports.

“Serbian volunteers, together with fighters from Russia, are taking part in all-out combat exercises at one of the training grounds in the Zaporizhzhya region for further participation in the special military operation,” they said.

“We have come to support our Russian brothers because we remember well the events that took place in Yugoslavia in the 1990s. We remember the injustice that NATO has done to Serbia and the situation in Kosovo. That is why we have come to support the Russian people in their real struggle,” one of the Serbian volunteers, identified as „Dunav“, told RIA Novosti.

Mercenaries from #Serbia begin military training alongside the #Russians in #Ukrainehttps://t.co/VoyRpvHBqe

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“What is happening in Ukraine are our Slavic brothers, but unfortunately they are occupied and are actually weapons in the hands of the West against Russia,” he added. As reported from „Dunav“, the Serbian people are aware of what is happening in the CVO area and most Serbian citizens are following the developments.

A Serbian fighter with the call sign “Sava”, tells RIA Novosti that in the volunteer battalion there is a brotherly attitude towards Serbia – “Russian comrades by weapons”, there is “complete mutual understanding and unity of views”.

“Now our main goal is to be together with our Russian brothers, to learn, train and adopt the experience of our brothers,” Sava said when asked what are the goals of participating in the conflict and how long he and his comrades plan to stay.

“We will be here until the war is over. “As long as it takes,” said the fighter.

Russian news agency TASS reported on Friday that Serbian volunteers had joined Pavel Sudoplatov’s battalion, which is being formed in the Zaporizhzhya region, the acting governor of the region, Yevgeny Balitsky, said.

According to him, these Serbian volunteers have served in the military police in their country and are masters in martial arts.

The Battalion “Pavel Sudoplatov” included volunteers from brotherly Serbia, who arrived in the Zaporozhye region to protect our borders, Balicki wrote on his Telegram channel.

“The guys from Belgrade are true patriots. Our brothers in arms have arrived in the Zaporizhzhya region even though Serbian law forbids its citizens to take part in a special military operation. “Today, for the first time, they stood shoulder to shoulder with our boys and proved their loyalty to Russia and their readiness to fight Nazism,” he said, TASS reported.

According to the Criminal Code of Serbia, participation in armed conflicts is punishable by imprisonment from six months to five years, with the sentence being increased to eight years if the act was committed in a group.

Organising the departure is punishable by up to ten years’ imprisonment.

Several people have been convicted in recent years for taking part in various armed conflicts.