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7:17 p.m

Wagner denies presence and recruitment in Serbia

The Wagner Group denied its presence in Serbia and the recruitment of Serbian fighters into its ranks, as it has been reported several times in various media outlets recently. “The Russian private military company Wagner never visited Serbia and had no contact with that country,” the Belgrade newspaper Vecernje Novosti quoted Wagner founder and leader Evini Prigozhin as saying. And he added: “In our company – he added – there are currently no Serbian citizens. Therefore, all rumors about Wagner’s cooperation with Serbia are baseless ».

The newspaper reported what Prigozhin had said in response to a specific question by Voice of America about Wagner’s alleged activity in Serbia, including the recruitment of Serbian citizens. According to various media, at the end of December, Wagner had opened a branch in Belgrade and, through some websites, was going to recruit Serb fighters for the Russian-Ukrainian front. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, in a television interview in recent days, criticized the initiative of some Russian websites that publish advertisements in which the Wagner Group calls on Serb volunteers to join their forces to fight in Ukraine.

Vucic said, “Why do you, from Wagner, go to the Serbian volunteers when you know that this is against our laws?” Prigozhin, according to Vecernje Novosti reports, at the same time denied rumors and reports of the presence of Wagner’s militia last December in northern Kosovo, during the acute stages of protest by local Serbs with barricades and barricades. “As far as we know, only the Serbs solve their problems. I wish them success and prosperity,” Prigozhin said in response to a specific question from the Voice of America.