Serbian President Furious Over Wagner Recruitment

A Russian news video claiming to show Serbian volunteers training to fight alongside Russian troops in Ukraine has prompted outrage in Serbia, exposing its complex relationship with Moscow, Guy Delauney reported for BBC News.

Photo Insert: President Vucic said that not only was Serbia "neutral" regarding the war in Ukraine but that he had not spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin for "many months."

Russia's Wagner mercenary group made Serbian-language videos to encourage recruitment for the war.

Serbia's president, Aleksandar Vucic, reacted angrily on national TV. "Why do you, from Wagner, call anyone from Serbia when you know that it is against our rules?" he said.

Critics frequently accuse Serbia of prioritizing its long-standing friendship with Russia over its ambition to join the EU. But what has emerged in recent days in Belgrade shows that the picture is not so black and white.

Hinting at less-than-rosy relations with Moscow, President Vucic said that not only was Serbia "neutral" regarding the war in Ukraine but that he had not spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin for "many months."

The number of Serbian recruits involved does not appear to be significant. Some did fight alongside Russian forces in Ukraine in 2014, but not with any sort of official endorsement. In fact, Serbian courts convicted more than two dozen people for taking part in "fighting on foreign battlefronts."

On Thursday, a Belgrade-based lawyer and anti-war groups filed criminal complaints against the Russian ambassador as well as the head of Serbia's state security and information agency (BIA) for allegedly recruiting Serbians for the Wagner group.

WEEKLY FEATURE : MVP Group Keeps Lights On During Pandemic