Russian citizen Aleksandar Bezrukovni was arrested in Bosnia and Herzegovina on suspicion of being one of the instructors who illegally trained Moldovan pro-Russian activists in the Bosnian Republika Srpska, HINA agency reported, citing Bosnian media.
The Russian was arrested in the town of Bosanska Krupa, the police of the Una-Sava canton announced in the Muslim-Croatian Federation.
The operation was carried out in cooperation with the intelligence and the Security Agency, which monitored the movements of Bezrukovni.
According to information of c. “Dnevni avaz“ the Russian citizen is on a list of persons wanted by Interpol.
The issue of the existence of training camps for Moldovan pro-Russian activists in the Bosnian Republika Srpska attracted public and media attention ahead of Moldova's presidential election and referendum on the country's EU integration last month. Moldova's interior ministry then announced that police had arrested men believed to have been trained in Russia and in the Serbian part of Bosnia and Herzegovina to incite violence and destabilize Moldova ahead of the vote.
After this announcement from the Moldovan side, politicians in Bosnia and Herzegovina began to exchange accusations on the subject, with Bosnian Serb representatives denying the existence of such camps on the territory of Republika Srpska.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Elmedin Konakovic, claims that the information is true and that individuals came to Republika Srpska who trained Moldovan teams for the purposes and on behalf of the Russian Federation.
The head of the Security and Intelligence Agency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Almir Juvo, stated at the end of October that foreign citizens arrived in Bosnia two months ago from the East, who may be connected to attempts to create organized groups to sabotage rallies.
Meanwhile, local media quoted security and intelligence agency sources as saying that at least seven Russians had been identified who trained Moldovans earlier in the year in the Banja Luka region – capital of the Bosnian Republika Srpska.