A Bosnian mercenary has been charged with war crimes in Ukraine
The Security Service of Ukraine, in conjunction with the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense, has charged Davor Savicic, a citizen of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with war crimes committed during Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
This was reported by the project “The Book of Executioners of the Ukrainian People.”
Savichich was charged on May 22, 2026, under the article on violations of the laws and customs of war.
According to the investigation, Davor Savicic was born in Bosnia and Herzegovina, holds citizenship of both the Russian Federation and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and resides in Khimki, Russia.
He is a serviceman with the private military company “Redut” with the rank of colonel. He previously served in the paramilitary unit “Serbian Volunteer Guard” (“Arkan’s Tigers”), where his call sign was “Elvis.”
According to the investigation, in 2014 he was already spotted among the militants who participated in the occupation of parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. There are also reports of his presence in Syria alongside mercenaries from the “Wagner” PMC.
During the full-scale Russian invasion, Savichich, according to the investigation, commanded the “Wolves” sabotage and reconnaissance unit, which operated as part of the “Vostok” group and participated in the occupation of territories in the Kyiv and Zhytomyr regions.
The investigation established two incidents of cruel treatment of civilians during the occupation of the Kyiv region in March 2022.
In particular, in the village of Fedorivka, Russian military personnel led by Savychich, according to the investigation, detained a local resident, subjected him to cruel treatment, held him in the forest, and demanded information about the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and his participation in propaganda materials.
A separate case has been documented involving a resident of Ivankiv who, according to the investigation, was abducted, detained, and forced to cooperate in propaganda materials through the use of threats and intimidation.
Savychych’s actions are classified under Part 2 of Article 28 and Part 1 of Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine—violations of the laws and customs of war.
The investigation believes that his actions violate the norms of international humanitarian law, in particular the Geneva Conventions and the Rome Statute of the ICC.
In Ukraine, from 2022 to 2025, courts handed down 167 convictions against 243 individuals for war crimes.
As a reminder, in Ukraine, charges were filed against the organizers of the deportation of over 200 children from Donetsk Oblast.
Additionally, three Russian servicemen have been charged with the murder of a civilian in Gostomel.
