Russians who fled to Serbia to escape the war against Ukraine now find themselves persecuted by local police and hunted by Moscow’s intelligence community

On December 17, 2023, Meduza published an investigation by special correspondent Lilya Yapparova. Here are the report’s main findings:

• After the full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, Serbia became a center of antiwar emigration for Russians. In Belgrade, those fleeing mobilization and political repressions staged dozens of protests against the war. However, it wasn’t long before conditions became unsafe for these activists. Local far-right groups began attacking demonstrations and demonstrators themselves. Meduza’s sources maintain that some of these attacks were organized with help from Russia’s intelligence community.
• Antiwar emigres in Serbia have also encountered problems with local law enforcement. Russian nationals have been summoned for questioning and sometimes banned from remaining in the country. Activists who spoke to Meduza say these decisions were made at Moscow’s request.
• A group of Serbian mercenaries who fought in Ukraine allegedly sought to unite pro-Russian forces in Belgrade, working together with Alexander Zaldostanov, the leader of the Night Wolves Motorcycle Club (sometimes called “Putin’s Angels” in the Western media), with the support of the Russian Defense Ministry’s Main Intelligence Directorate.
• This group reportedly tried to win the Kremlin’s sponsorship to destabilize the political situation in Kosovo but never received the necessary funds from Moscow./meduza.io/