NATO protection forces during the uprisings in Kosovo in May 2023. (Archive photo) © Armend Nimani/AFP
Russia is using the Kosovo conflict to cause unrest in the EU. For some time now, there have been suspicions that Moscow is sending mercenaries to the conflict regions.
Zvecan – The conflict in Kosovo flared up again on Whit Monday (29 May). In an attempt to crush an uprising in the small town of Zvecan, angry residents attacked the advancing NATO soldiers. The Schutztruppe withdrew, several soldiers were injured in the attacks, some seriously. One day after the violent uprisings between militant Serbs and the NATO-led protection troops KFOR, images show the unimagined extent of the violent clash. In addition to soldiers lying on the ground, debris and devastation, several KFOR jeeps sprayed with a "Z" can also be seen.
KFOR jeeps smeared with "Z" – Russian provocation in Kosovo
The letter "Z" is commonly used by Kremlin supporters to express their support for the war in Ukraine. The Russian occupiers themselves also use the sign and mark the house walls and facades of the occupied cities with it in the Ukraine war.
The fact that this sign also appears in the Kosovo conflict is no wonder, given Russia's support for Serbia. Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov shared his concerns about the neighboring country after the uprisings on Monday and blamed the renewed escalation in the Western military alliance: "Significant explosives are brewing in the heart of Europe, exactly where NATO carried out its violent attack on Yugoslavia in 1999," Lavrov said: The situation was "alarming".
For Russia, the tense situation is found ammunition to fire at the West. Marina Vulović, an expert on geostrategies in the Western Balkans, told the German Institute for International and Security Affairs that Russia wants to further destabilize the European Union in this way: "Russia is not the cause of the tensions between Serbia and Kosovo, but it can certainly use them to weaken or distract the EU, because it has to engage on several diplomatic fronts at the same time."
Kosovo conflict: Wagner Group recruited mercenaries in Serbia
This is not the first time that pro-Russian graffiti has been seen on footage from the Balkans. In mid-January, two graffiti appeared in the streets of Belgrade glorifying the Wagner mercenary group. At the same time, a Serbian offshoot of the Russian state broadcaster Russia Today circulated a TV report promoting weapons training for the notorious private army. On Russian websites and social media groups, recruitment advertisements of the Wagner Group in Serbian suddenly appeared.
As a result, speculation grew that Putin was secretly using the Wagner Group in the Kosovo conflict. And already at the end of 2022, European news channels reported on Russia's plan to send the Wagner mercenaries to the north of Kosovo as troublemakers. The plan, he said, is to "create conflicts and crises wherever the West plays a role" in order to destabilize the regions and strengthen Russia's influence there.
0
Also Read
Coup against Putin? Prigozhin counters accusation – "selected corrections of the Russian system"
READ
New Habeck hammer: penalties of up to one million euros are imminent
READ
Indictment filed: Tandler and her partner allegedly evaded 23.5 million euros in taxes in mask deals
READ
After victory in Bakhmut: Wagner mercenaries and Russia's soldiers advance along highways
READ
Ukraine reports devastating "blow" against Russian occupiers – 500 dead and injured
READ
Fancy a voyage of discovery?
My Area
Wagner mercenaries on their way to Kosovo?
Whether the mercenaries under the leadership of Yevgeny Prigozhin, Putin's cook, are really up to mischief in Kosovo has not yet been proven. Given that the private army is heavily involved in the ongoing battle for the city of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine, it is questionable whether the mercenaries are fighting on two fronts at once.
However, this could soon change: According to information from the intelligence service Terror Alarm, which describes itself as "non-state" and "agenda free", the Wagner Group is said to have received the order to invade Kosovo. The intelligence service refers to the Telegram channel of the Russian private army. The information could not be independently verified.
Kosovo conflict: Serbia does not recognise independence
Kosovo, which is now inhabited almost exclusively by Albanians, declared independence in 2008. Serbia does not recognize the statehood of its former province and demands its return. At the same time, it repeatedly stirs up tensions among the Serb population in Kosovo.
Belgrade responded to an armed uprising by the Kosovo Albanians in 1999 with expulsions and mass murders of the civilian population. NATO then intervened with bombardments and forced the withdrawal of Serbian security forces from Kosovo. A decision of the UN Security Council in the same year instructed KFOR to ensure security in Kosovo. (aa/dpa)