More than 650 members of the Russian paramilitary formations Wagner and Redut, involved in combat operations in Ukraine – including citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina – have been discovered in a EUROPOL operation, the European law enforcement agency said on October 31.
This phase of the investigation, conducted in cooperation between EUROPOL, Moldova and Ukraine, also included the search for evidence of war crimes, from the executions of civilians to sexual violence.
In the investigation led by the EUROPOL international crimes team, 654 members of the Russian private military groups Wagner and Redut have been identified who have participated in combat operations against Ukraine, EUROPOL announced.
According to the announcement, among the suspects are citizens of Ukraine, Moldova, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Armenia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
During the operation, which took place on October 29, police carried out 70 raids on facilities in Moldova and Ukraine and confiscated weapons, ammunition, military uniforms, Wagner symbols and electronic equipment.
During the operation, video recordings and photographs were also collected showing the participation of citizens of Moldova and Ukraine in fighting in Ukraine and the Democratic Republic of Congo as part of these Russian paramilitary formations, EUROPOL said.
Ukrainian authorities, through secure EUROPOL channels, shared 280 names of foreign nationals suspected of participating in the fighting.
Since the beginning of the investigation, according to EUROPOL data, training and recruitment camps have been discovered, command structures have been located, and many war crimes have been documented – executions of civilians, use of prohibited weapons, and attacks on Ukrainian cities.
A Bosnian Serb who changed his identity joins Russia's war against Ukraine
So far, 11 Ukrainian citizens have been charged with high treason after joining the Wagner and Redut groups.
Prosecutors in Moldova and Ukraine have confirmed the raids through separate media releases.
"Ukrainian police are finding Russian war criminals in various countries around the world and are doing everything they can to ensure that each of them receives the deserved punishment," the National Police of Ukraine said in a statement.
It is unclear how many of the 654 people EUROPOL said were implicated in alleged war crimes have been arrested or where they are.
Ukrainian authorities have created a special prosecutor's office tasked with gathering evidence of war crimes committed during Russia's more than 45-month-long occupation of Ukraine. The effort has been joined by investigators and has support from other countries.
EUROPOL, in addition to analytical and technical support, created a virtual command center to facilitate communication between the states involved and to compare real-time operational data with its own databases and open sources, the announcement said.
The European Union agency emphasized that it continues close cooperation with Ukraine and Moldova within the framework of operational agreements signed in 2014 and 2016, which enable the exchange of information and the coordination of cross-border investigations.
"The aim is to disrupt networks that threaten the security of the European Union and its neighbours," EUROPOL said.
After the death of its founder, Yevgeny Prigozhin, in a mysterious plane crash, the Wagner Group largely disintegrated, with various military units becoming part of the Ministry of Defense formations or being absorbed into other paramilitary organizations.
Redut, the other entity identified during the raids, is a recruitment network run by the Russian military intelligence agency, known as the GRU. It is believed that some of Wagner's units were recruited by Redut.
