Court documents and interviews reveal that Russian instructors trained Moldovan recruits at camps in Bosnia and Serbia in 2024 to carry out subversive activities, including scouting embassies and operating military-grade drones.
According to Moldovan court rulings, the camps targeted recruits for “survival skills” training, but the instruction extended to preparing incendiary devices, gathering intelligence on diplomatic sites, and drone operations. The camps were initially located near Banja Luka in Bosnia’s Republika Srpska and later moved to Serbia.
Participants were reportedly tasked with photographing embassies across Bosnia, Croatia, and Serbia and documenting potential drone take-off sites. One source described drones used at the camps as “military-grade, not toys,” valued at 3,000–5,000 euros each. Handwritten manuals, including instructions on explosives and incendiary devices, were found in the possession of three participants: Aliona Gotco, Ludmila Costenco, and Vladimir Harcevnicov.
Court convictions in Moldova have sentenced several participants to prison, although Gotco, Costenco, and Harcevnicov remain at large. Prosecutors confirmed that at least three groups of Moldovan recruits, each numbering five to twelve individuals, went through the camps between July and September 2024, with payments ranging from 450 to 800 euros.
Investigators have identified the instructors only by aliases, including Alexandr, Gosa, and Bata, and their true identities remain unknown. Social media posts corroborate the movements of participants across Bosnia, Serbia, Croatia, and Romania during the training period.
The Bosnian state prosecutor’s office confirmed that a case regarding the camp is open, and Moldova has shared its findings, although no indictments have yet been issued in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
