Documentation of Russian war crimes in the war against Ukraine continues
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), together with analysts from the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense, has gathered evidence of the involvement of Serbian mercenary Davor Savicic in committing war crimes during Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine.
According to the Prompolitinform portal, this was reported by the “Book of the Executioners of the Ukrainian People” project.
On May 22, 2026, he was officially notified of suspicion under Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
Who is the suspect
Davor Dragoljubovic Savicic (born January 10, 1980) is a native of Banovici (Bosnia and Herzegovina) and 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 callsign “Elvis.” According to investigators, while serving in that formation he was suspected of murdering five civilians in Kosovo (December 14, 1998, Pec), 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 appeared in media reports as a member of a Serbian “volunteer” unit that participated in the occupation of parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
Later, he was identified in joint photos and videos with Wagner PMC mercenaries in Syria. According to investigators, the recordings contain references to a person named “Savicic” and “Wolf.”
As of February–March 2022, he commanded the sabotage and reconnaissance unit “Wolves,” operating as part of the Russian Armed Forces group “Vostok.” The unit participated in the occupation of settlements in the Zhytomyr and Kyiv regions.
After suffering significant losses in autumn 2022, the unit was withdrawn to Russia and reinforced with personnel from other Redut PMC units. Between November 2022 and January 2023, the unit was reorganized into the 1st Volunteer Reconnaissance Assault Brigade “Wolves,” 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 soldiers led by Savicic discovered a local resident who, together with other people, had been hiding from shelling inside 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 plastic restraints, 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 stand under threat of death for about two hours.
Afterward, the victim was taken to a field tent for interrogation. Investigators claim Savicic demanded information about the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and forced the man to make false statements for Russian media.
When the victim refused, Savicic allegedly beat him with a rifle butt on the legs and, after he fell, struck him 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.
Read also on Prompolitinform: «The Book of Executioners” has published data on war criminals involved in the torture of civilians during the occupation of Kyiv region
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 plastic restraints, 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 for interrogation to Savicic. According to investigators, he demanded information about the Ukrainian Armed Forces and forced the woman to participate in a staged propaganda interview.
To intimidate the victim, Savicic allegedly threatened her with violence and simulated striking her with a chair.
Suspicion notice
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 dated September 26, 2024.
Photo from open sources
