Soldier of Fortune Magazine The Journal of Professional Adventurers
Has the Wagner Group found support in Bosnia? In the wake of Yevgeny Prigozhin‘s recent aborted run on Moscow, Soldier of Fortune went into Eastern Europe to check out the scene. Our correspondent Heath Hansen, who normally roams the U.S. southern border, on Saturday crossed from Montenegro into southern Bosnia and Herzegovina, where he found some interesting signs.
In the town of Klobuk, just past the Ilino Brdo station, Heath began to see giant red “Z” symbols spray-painted onto rocks and structures.
“At first, I thought they were the Russian invasion symbol,” Heath says. “Then I realized, that symbol is white. These are red.” That is the color the Wagner Group uses.
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“The paint looked fresh, maybe a few days old, which would coincide with when the ‘coup‘ began,” Heath says.
Significantly, one of the “Z” symbols was painted near a flagpole that appeared to be flying an inverted Russian flag.
“I believe that is the flag being flown upside down for distress,” Heath says. Note that the flag is similar to a Serbian flag; but the flag of Serbia has an insignia on the right-facing side. Heath drove around to the other side of the flag and confirmed that it had no insignia on either side, which is consistent with it being a Russian flag.
One reader, however, says that the flag belongs to the Republica Srbska ( Republic of the Serbs ).
Bosnia is separated into two entities, the reader noted. The entities are the Republica Srbska ( Republic of the Serbs ) and the Bosnian-Croatian “Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.”
One structure bore the graffiti images of “Z,” plus “Fuck NATO” written in spray-paint.
“It’s interesting that they actually used upper and lower case for the ‘fuck,’ then all capital letters for the ‘NATO,’ ” Heath says. “Also, they made multiple passes with the spray-paint can on the ‘Z,’ which tells me they wanted to make sure is was accurate and very noticeable.
“They weren’t in an extreme hurry to throw it up there.”
What do the scrawls signify? It’s difficult to say. Yevgeny Prigozhin has gone dark on the net, and the Kremlin did not return requests for comment.
Heath remains in the AO. More reports to come as he sends them.
