Aleksandar Olenik, a member of the Zajedno za Vojvodina Vojvodjani coalition in the Serbian Parliament, assessed today that Serbia is “spreading war propaganda” of Russia and stated that it has also begun to “actively participate in the recruitment of mercenaries”.
Olenik wrote on Twitter that Serbia is doing this by allowing the Russian portal Rasha Today (RT), which recently started working in Serbia even though it is banned in most European countries, to broadcast an ad “Vagnerovci published an ad for volunteers, the conditions are more than tempting “.
“The most shameful thing so far… This is how we will be condemned again for not preventing or for assisting in the commission of war crimes,” said Olenik.
“Wagnerovci” is a private military company of Russian businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin.
Volunteers, as stated in the ad reported by the RT portal, must be between the ages of 22 and 50, must not be citizens of Ukraine, any of the EU or NATO countries, and must be healthy.
In that advertisement, it is stated that “the main thing is that those who apply are really interested in learning, that they are patriots and that they are strong in spirit, and everything else will be taught by the Wagnerians”.
It is added that interested parties are made clear at the very beginning that everyone who applies now will be sent directly “to the special military operation zone, even though the company is also active in other parts of the world.”
“The security of our country is the most important thing now,” the ad reads.
“Special military operation” is the term used by official Moscow for Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, which began on February 24 last year.
The ad says that the monthly salary will be 240,000 rubles (a little less than 3,200 euros), while those who stand out and show good results expect “additional monetary compensation”, which in some cases can amount to a million rubles (more than 13,000 euros).
Future fighters were promised health and life insurance, with guarantees that every type of monetary compensation would be paid out, it is stated.
“In case of death, the family receives five million rubles (about 66,000 euros), the company takes over all the costs of burial and transportation of the body, while the children are promised help in enrolling in colleges and other educational institutions,” the ad reads.