The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), jointly with analysts from the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense, has collected evidence of the involvement of Serbian mercenary Davor Savicic in the commission of war crimes during russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine.

On May 22, 2026, he was officially notified of suspicion under Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

He and a hundred other mercenaries were identified in 2023 by investigators from Radio Liberty.

Who is the suspect

Savicic Davor Dragoljubovic (born January 10, 1980) is a native of the city of Banovići (Bosnia and Herzegovina) and an ethnic Serb. He resides in Khimki (russia). He holds dual citizenship of the russian federation and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

He serves as a colonel in the private military company “Redut”.

Previously, he served in the Serbian paramilitary formation “Serbian Volunteer Guard” (“Arkan’s Tigers”), where he used the call sign “Elvis”. According to the investigation, while serving in this formation he was suspected of killing five civilians in Kosovo (December 14, 1998, Peć), as well as involvement in organizing an explosion in Montenegro that killed six people (January 30, 2001, Berane). However, he was acquitted in 2008.

In 2014, Savicic again drew media attention as a member of a detachment of Serbian “volunteers” who participated in the occupation of parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

He was later documented in photos and videos alongside mercenaries from the PMC “Wagner” in Syria. According to investigators, recordings include references to a person addressed as “Savicic” and “Volk”.

As of February—March 2022, he commanded the sabotage and reconnaissance unit “Volki”, which operated as part of the russian armed forces’ “Vostok” grouping. The unit participated in the occupation of settlements in the Zhytomyr and Kyiv regions.

After suffering significant losses in the fall of 2022, the unit was withdrawn to russian territory and reinforced with personnel from other PMC “Redut” units. Between November 2022 and January 2023, it was reorganized into the 1st Volunteer Reconnaissance-Assault Brigade “Volki”, which was incorporated into the “Volunteer Corps”.

Circumstances of the crime

Investigators accuse Savicic of cruel treatment of civilians during the occupation of the Vyshhorod and Bucha districts of Kyiv region in February—March 2022.

The case concerns two key episodes.

• First episode

On March 3, 2022, in the village of Fedorivka, russian troops led by Savicic discovered a local resident who, together with others, had been hiding from shelling in a concrete pipe.

According to investigators, Savicic ordered the man to strip down to his underwear. The soldiers confiscated his phone, tied his hands with a plastic restraint, pulled a hat over his eyes, and transported him to a forest between the villages of Shybene and Krasnyi Rih.

There, the man was tied to a tree, a hand grenade was placed between his back and the trunk, and the pin was pulled, forcing him to remain under threat of death for approximately two hours.

Afterward, the victim was taken to a field tent for interrogation. Investigators say Savicic demanded information about the location of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and forced the man to make false statements for russian media.

When the victim refused, Savicic, according to the investigation, struck him with a rifle butt on the legs and, after he fell, on the head and back.

The man was later forced to dig a pit approximately one meter by one meter in size, where he was unlawfully detained from March 3 to March 9 in subzero temperatures, with almost no food or water.

• Second episode

On March 5, 2022, in the urban-type settlement of Ivankiv, russian soldiers unlawfully entered the apartment of a local woman and detained her.

Her hands were tied with a plastic restraint, she was taken to a forest near the village of Shybene, and held in a van until March 8.

On March 6, she was brought to Savicic for interrogation. According to investigators, he demanded information about the Armed Forces of Ukraine and forced the woman to participate in a staged propaganda interview.

To intimidate the victim, Savicic threatened her with violence and simulated striking her with a chair.

Suspicion

Savicic’s actions were classified under Part 2 of Article 28 and Part 1 of Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine — violations of the laws and customs of war.

Investigators believe he violated international humanitarian law, including the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions, and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.

The pre-trial investigation was entered into the Unified Register of Pre-Trial Investigations under No. 42024000000001087 on September 26, 2024.