A senator under Western sanctions and a former officer of Russia’s military intelligence service, the GRU, will be among the Russian observers at the general elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina, scheduled for October 4, Radio Free Europe has learned.
The senator in question is Elena Afanasyeva, a senator from the Orenburg region, who has been sanctioned by the European Union, the United States and the United Kingdom after supporting Russia’s recognition of separatist territories in Ukraine.
Aleksei Kondratyev will also travel to Bosnia and Herzegovina for the elections. According to previous research by Radio Free Europe, he is also linked to Redut—a Russian private military organization comprising at least 20 different armed formations and closely associated with the GRU.
Both are among five individuals nominated to observe the elections by the Council of the Federation of Russia—the upper house of the Russian parliament—which is headed by Valentina Matviyenko.
A senator under Western sanctions and a former officer of Russia’s military intelligence service, the GRU, will be among the Russian observers at the general elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina, scheduled for October 4, Radio Free Europe has learned.
The senator in question is Elena Afanasyeva, a senator from the Orenburg region, who has been sanctioned by the European Union, the United States and the United Kingdom after supporting Russia’s recognition of separatist territories in Ukraine.
Aleksei Kondratyev will also travel to Bosnia and Herzegovina for the elections. According to previous research by Radio Free Europe, he is also linked to Redut—a Russian private military organization comprising at least 20 different armed formations and closely associated with the GRU.
Both are among five individuals nominated to observe the elections by the Council of the Federation of Russia—the upper house of the Russian parliament—which is headed by Valentina Matviyenko.
