Security agencies in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) cannot publicly confirm the knowledge about the arrival of members of the infamous Russian paramilitary unit “Wagner” to the Day of Republika Srpska (RS) celebration after the warning of the State Security Minister Selmo Cikotic.
Members of the private military company “Wagner” did not attend the RS Day celebration in Istocno Sarajevo, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the RS confirmed for the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN) BiH.
Namely, the Entity Police and the Border Police confirmed that they had no knowledge of the arrival of members of the Russian military formation after BiH Security Minister Selmo Cikotictold that there was intelligence data about the arrival of pro-Russian groups on January 9th, among which he mentioned “Wagner”.
For years, “Wagner” was a mysterious private paramilitary formation whose members participated in the battles in Ukraine in 2014, but also on the battlefields in Africa. Numerous international reports have linked members of the formation to crimes, and Russia has always denied any connection, and even the existence of the group itself. After the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Yevgeny Prigozhin, a Russian oligarch close to Vladimir Putin, publicly called for volunteers to join this formation. Today, he is considered its leader, and The Guardian reported in September that Prigozhin admitted to founding the formation.
The Border Police told BIRN BiH that they have no information that in the past few days there have been entries or attempts to enter by persons associated with private military units.
In a letter transmitted by the media, Cikotic stated that there are security threats associated with the January 9th celebration, referring to available information from intelligence and security structures.
The Minister of Security of BiH was not ready to discuss these findings with the journalists of BIRN BiH.
The state security agencies of BiH did not respond to inquiries as to whether they have concrete knowledge of whether there are persons in BiH who are associated with members of the “Wagner” group and whether the entry of Russian citizens into BiH has been increased, Detektor reports.
E.Dz.
