The United Kingdom has imposed a new package of sanctions on individuals and companies linked to Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, including a Bosnian national.
Among those sanctioned is Davor Dragolobović Savićič, born in Doboj.
“Savićič is involved or has been involved in destabilizing Ukraine or undermining or threatening Ukraine’s territorial integrity, sovereignty, or independence, as he is involved in policies and actions that destabilize Ukraine or undermine or threaten its territorial integrity, sovereignty, or independence,” stated the British government.
In November last year, the Federal Police Administration (FUP) filed a complaint against Savićič with the Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina due to suspicions that he was a member of the mercenary paramilitary group “Wagner.”
Subsequently, based on several videos on Telegram and the Russian network Vkontakte, journalists from Radio Free Europe reported that Savićič is active in the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and that he is behind the mercenary group “Wolf.”
Fought in the “Arkan’s Tigers” Formation
Media in Bosnia and Serbia have also reported that during the Bosnian War, Savićič was a member of the Serbian Volunteer Guard, a paramilitary group led by Željko Ražnatović – Arkan.
Elvis Davor Savićič earned his first combat nickname during the 1990s conflict. It appears that he adopted the name “Elvis” as a war moniker due to his zeal for fighting against Bosniaks.
The groups led by Ražnatović are suspected of committing war crimes in Bijeljina, Sanski Most, and Bosanski Samac in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Arkan was accused of war crimes by the International Criminal Tribunal in The Hague in 1999, but he was never tried, as he was killed a year later at the Intercontinental Hotel in Belgrade.
In 1998, when the Kosovo conflict began to escalate, Savićič joined the official Serbian State Security Unit known as the “Frankijevci.”
In 2001, the Montenegrin Prosecutor’s Office accused Savićič and three others of planting a bomb in the home of Duško Martinović in Berane, killing six people. Apparently, Martinović owed around 15,000 euros.
In 2016, Balkan Insight wrote that Savićič was initially sentenced to 20 years in absentia in Montenegro, but during the appeal process, it was determined that there was insufficient evidence to hold him responsible for the bombing.
From Montenegro to Ukraine
From 2001 until his acquittal in 2014, the Montenegrin police tracked Savićič from Bosnia to France, Spain, and Russia, but never succeeded in arresting him.
The year Savićič was released, photos of him surfaced on the front lines in Luhansk, where he and around 50 other Serbian fighters brought their skills to the battlefield in a pro-Russian insurgency against the Ukrainian government.
In 2016, the Russian portal Fontanka reported that Savićič trained Russian mercenaries who went to Syria to fight on the side of government forces.
Fontanka spoke with several mercenaries employed by Wagner and obtained documents and photographs showing that their fighters were in Syria, including the so-called “Serbian Unit,” which was allegedly led by Savićič.
Mercenaries who spoke with Fontanka at that time said that Savićič was highly respected by his superiors in Wagner due to his extensive experience during the war, and he was given the codename “Wolf” to reflect his strength and courage in battle.
Fontanka claimed that Savićič became a rising star among mercenaries during the conflict in eastern Ukraine.
Savićič was the subject of a report in November 2023, which was submitted to the Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
As announced at that time by the FUP, the complaint was filed due to the existence of grounds for suspicion that he had committed the crime of “Formation and joining of illegal foreign paramilitary or parapolice formations” and “Organization of a terrorist group” under Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Criminal Code.
In cooperation with INTERPOL and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Tuzla Canton, the Federal Police Administration gathered evidence showing that Davor Savićič had joined the Russian paramilitary unit “Wagner.”
It is important to note that the departure of Bosnian citizens to foreign battlefields is a criminal offense related to terrorism and terrorist activities. The law was amended in 2014 and provides for prison sentences of up to 10 years.
