Belgrade resident Lazar Popović (37) and Savo Stevanović (47) from Loznica were arrested early this morning and taken for questioning at the Higher Public Prosecutor's Office in Šabac on suspicion of participating in the organization and financing of an improvised tactical training camp for citizens of Moldova and Romania.
Branislav Manić, defense attorney for Lazar Popović, confirmed to BIRN that his client had remained silent during the police interrogation. He also stated that Popović was remanded in police custody at the Šabac police station.
When asked what crime his client is charged with, lawyer Manić said "too complicated."
The operation was led by the Police Departments for Combating Terrorism, the Belgrade BIA and the Military Security Agency.
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The Serbian Ministry of Interior has confirmed the arrest of two Serbian citizens and, as stated in the statement, during a search of the suspects' apartments, the police seized laptops, mobile phones, as well as a device for detecting and monitoring radio-frequency signals, while a pistol was also seized from one of the suspects, for which he is also charged with the criminal offense of illegal production, possession, carrying and trafficking of weapons and explosives.
More than 150 foreign citizens with a pro-Russian orientation were trained from July to September this year in recognizing combat targets and shooting at a shooting range, and the training was organized with the aim of preparing the participants for the upcoming elections in Moldova.
Moldova is holding parliamentary elections on September 28th, which are believed to be crucial for the political future of this candidate for membership in the European Union, as a dead heat is predicted between pro-European parties and parties that want the former Soviet republic to move closer to Moscow again.
Training at the paramilitary camp in Serbia specifically focused on responding in the event of an unfavorable election result for pro-Russian forces.
The training was conducted by instructors who are citizens of the Russian Federation and Belarus at the Sunčana Reka complex, located between Loznica and Banja Koviljača. According to BIRN, the instructors traveled from Serbia to Montenegro every 30 days, then returned to Loznica.
Groups of around 50 people have come to the Sunčana Reka complex on at least four occasions in recent months, a BIRN source says.
"They would stay there for seven days and would always have full board. They spoke Russian. The last time they were there was about ten days ago. Two men would arrive before everyone else, they would organize everything and wait for the groups. The trainees would spend most of their time in the meeting room."
According to the investigation, one of the arrested is suspected of paying around 10 euros to paramilitary training instructors through his companies and cards for games on gambling machines.
Arrested Lazar Popović was once an advisor to Nenad Popović, the current minister without portfolio in charge of international economic cooperation and the social position of the church in the country and abroad. A BIRN source says that arrested Popović has not been in regular contact with Minister Popović in recent years.
Savo Stevanović was also a member of Nenad Popović's party, then he moved to the political faction of the president of the municipality of Čajetina, Milan Stamatović.
Recall that in 2014, Milan Stamatović, together with Nenad Popović, left the Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS) and together they founded the Serbian People's Party. Stamatović left the SNP in early 2017 and subsequently formed the citizens' group "For a Healthy Serbia".
Vice President of the Freedom and Justice Party, Marinika Tepić, asked, regarding the announcement by Moldovan President Maja Sandu that Russia was undermining the elections in that country on Sunday and that the Russian service was training people in Serbia to incite mass riots, whether the state of Serbia was involved in this, if it is true that the training was organized and financed by Lazar Popović, presented as an advisor to Minister Nenad Popović.
She also asked whether it was true that by mid-September 2025, the training of these pro-Russian sympathizers at Sunny River was carried out through various training sessions from the use of poles to weapons – and especially for effectively confronting the Moldovan police in the event of a bad outcome for the pro-Russian faction.
"How was the Russian intelligence service - and our BIA - not informed about this until President Sandu herself opened this scandal three days ago, and the "campers" had already left for Moldova on an assignment," Tepić asked.
Arrests in Moldova
Moldovan prosecutors and police announced that 74 people were arrested in a major operation on September 22nd on suspicion of preparing riots in the country ahead of parliamentary elections.
The operation carried out 250 searches, and weapons, tents, SIM cards, passports, and money were seized.
"The searches are connected to criminal proceedings regarding the preparation of mass riots and destabilization, which were coordinated from the Russian Federation through criminal elements," police said on Monday.
According to Moldovan data, between June and September, several groups of Moldovans traveled to Serbia where the Russians prepared them for fighting and taught them how to, among other things, use weapons and break through police cordons.
The European Commission is investigating "how it was possible" that dozens of Moldovans were reportedly trained in Serbia in destabilization tactics, Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos told Radio Free Europe.
Camps in Serbia have been organized before. Last year, Moldova arrested eight people on suspicion of preparing to cause mass riots before, during and after the country's presidential election, in which pro-EU President Maja Sandu eventually won another term, defeating Aleksandar Stoyanov, who was supported by the pro-Russian current.
From August to October last year, they were trained in Bosnia and Herzegovina, where the village of Glamočani, near Banja Luka, is cited as one of the possible locations, and in Serbia, in the village of Radenka, near the border with Romania, according to testimonies from participants.
At least four participants and organizers of the training camps are being prosecuted in Moldova, and the case has since been filed by the Bosnia and Herzegovina Prosecutor's Office, BIRN has learned.
Serbian media reported that the BIA, in cooperation with the police, "intercepted illegal activities on a rural property near Kučevo."
Almost all pro-regime media outlets reported that during the search, among other things, four drones with accompanying equipment, virtual reality glasses, equipment for "catching" drones, Starlink equipment for establishing satellite communication, radio stations, improvised hand-made batteries, as well as phosphorus and other flammable liquids and watches that were most likely used to activate flammable substances were found.
After last year's Moldovan elections, the European Commission said that "Russian interference in the electoral process" during the campaign was "unprecedented."
Russian training camps in Serbia: What do we know so far?
BIRN has already written to Russian camps for Moldovans held in Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina during 2024.
The Moldovan prosecutor's office alleges that the trainings were held in Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina from August to October 2024, and that the instructors were individuals associated with the Russian mercenary group Wagner and several people under European Union sanctions.
One of the witnesses in the proceedings, himself a participant in the camps, told the Moldovan media outlet CU SENS and BIRN that the participants were mostly recruited at paintball tournaments.
Participants then traveled by plane or car through Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, on two occasions, first between August 1 and 16, and then between August 22 and October 11, 2024.
Upon arrival at the camp, participants had their phones and passports taken away, which they temporarily got back once or twice – only when they were allowed to go to the city.
At the camps, they learned how to fly drones and how to fight. Roska says they were trained in "things like sports and psychology," and were told they would be paid between $300 and $500.
Note: The investigation into this case is still ongoing. Everyone is presumed innocent until proven guilty by a final verdict.
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