Russia stops slandering Kosovo

Russia's Defence Ministry published a list with the alleged number of mercenaries from various countries in the world, and Kosovo ranked ninth.

It is also claimed that Russia has eliminated 61 mercenaries from Kosovo, while another 60 are said to have left.

Currently, according to the Russian Defence Ministry, 35 Kosovo citizens remain part of the war in Ukraine.

Representatives of Kosovo institutions say they have no record of these claims.

“We have no information on any citizen of the Republic of Kosovo who is part of the war in Ukraine, and for less than casualties among them, as [Russian president Vladimir] agencies have declared. Putinit”, Kosovo Minister of Internal Affairs Jhelal Svecla said in an interview for Radio Free Europe.

He added that all of Russia's claims, in relation to Kosovo, are propaganda.

“... in order to justify its unjust and untested aggression in Ukraine, but also mobilise its ranks and supporters against democratic, lyrical states, including the Republic of Kosovo”, Svechla said. Kosovo, moreover, has the Law to Ban the Union in Army Conflicts Outside the Country Territory.

With this law, any Kosovo citizen joining any armed conflict abroad could face prison terms of between 5 and 15 years.

This law continues to be in effect, so it is also a stop for anyone who is thinking of becoming part of the” wars, Svechla said.

In February, a few days before Russia began the invasion of Ukraine on a large scale, Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has declared that “merceners from Kosovo” are being sent to Donbas, Ukraine.

In this region, Ukrainian government forces have fought pro-Russian separatists since 2014.

In response to Lavrov's statement, Kosovo's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Diaspora has said Russian officials are making “wild propagandition” against the state of Kosovo.

The director of the Kosovar Institute for Research and Development of Politics (KIPRED), Lulzim Peci, simultaneously researchers of Russia's disinformative campaigns in relation to Kosovo, says there is nothing true about the list of mercenaries Russia publishes.

This is what Russia says is only part of its propaganda, which is oriented towards countries that have pro-Western attitudes, that are with the West. Nothing more there, and, normally, Russia always has Kosovo special target”, Peci tells Radio Free Europe.

Russia, he adds, propagands against any country that ranks on its opposite side, particularly against countries that are members or support NATO.

Russia views this military alliance as rival and claims without proof that its expansion poses a threat to it.

Kosovo, like most Balkan countries, has joined Western sanctions against Russia because of the invasion of Ukraine.

“Russia with large dezinformation machine”

The Russian list of alleged mercs figures published on June 18th in an online Albanian post, including the Russian Embassy in Albania.

From some commentators in the Facebook account of this embassy, the list was described as untrue and propagandizing. “A list like this can prepare everyone on the computer. This is by no means reliable”, a commentator wrote.

“In history, Russia has had and has the largest and most powerful dezination machine”, another commentator wrote.

At tenth place in the number of mercenaries in the war in Ukraine, Russia's Defence Ministry listed Albania.

According to Russian claims, 150 mercenaries from Albania joined the war from February 24th to June 17th.

Of them, always according to the Russian state, 42 have been eliminated, 40 have left and 68 are still present there.

Such claims dismissed official Tirana.

Albania, too, has the law condemning up to 15 years of imprisonment to participation in foreign wars.

Russian claims questioned in Bosnia as well

Another Western Balkan country, included in the Russian Defence Ministry's list of mercenaries, is Bosnia and Herzegovina in 7th place.

According to this list, 167 citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina have joined the war in Ukraine; of them 51 have been eliminated, 46 have left and 70 are still in the fighting zone.

Military and political analyst in Bosnia and Herzegovina Neven Kazazovic questions these claims.

If [the Jews] are certain this is the case, the mercenaries come from Bosnia and Kosovo, they must prove it. Therefore, I think it's more propaganda than true”, says Kazazovic for Radio Free Europe.

In Bosnia and Herzegovina's case, officials have confirmed that two citizens of this country are involved in the war in Ukraine -- one on the Ukrainian side, the other on the side of Russian troops.

This, despite the fact that Bosnia and Herzegovina has legally sanctioned the participation of its citizens in armed conflicts abroad.

Kazazovic admits that in the war in Ukraine there may be fighters who are citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina, but says they belong to the Serb community.

There may be many mercenaries participating in Bosnia and Herzegovina [of the Serb community], but on the Russian side. It's quite the opposite of what the Russians claim”, Kazazovic says.

The leader of Serbs in Bosnia, Milorad Dodik, openly voiced his support for Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Serbia, on the other hand, is the only country in the Balkans that has not joined Western sanctions against Russia.

In the first ten on the list of mercenaries, Russia has also listed Croatia from Western Balkan countries, but other countries, such as Poland, Romania and the United Kingdom.

Several European Union countries, including Czechia and Latvia, have allowed their citizens to fight in Ukraine if they want to, without facing consequences.

Kosovo, Russia's “preferred”

In the international arena, Russia is one of the biggest opponents of Kosovo's independence.

It, repeatedly, presents obstacles in relation to Kosovo's membership in international organisations.

Putin, in his speeches, frequently mentions Kosovo, drawing parallels between its independence from Serbia and annexing the Ukrainian Crimea Peninsula from Moscow in 2014.

The forced prosecution of the Crimea, following a devised referendum, has been deemed illegal and the region is not recognised as part of Russia by the majority of the international community.

By contrast, Kosovo is recognised by 117 countries around the world. Moreover, in 2010, the International Court of Justice has concluded that Kosovo's independence “does not conflict with international law”.

On July 18th, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has mentioned Kosovo in a writing to the Russian medium “Isvestia”.

This is not the first time even for Lavrov referring to Kosovo, to draw alleged parallels with developments in Russia or Ukraine.

In the article in “Izvestia”, Lavrov has accused Kosovo and the international community of insisting on the Recak massacre, which occurred on January 15th 1999.

At this event, Serbian forces have killed and slaughtered 45 Albanian civilians.

Officials in Serbia and Russia have sometimes claimed that the “massacre has been invented”.

Lavrov has made the same charge in “Isvestia” and said, as well, that the West and Ukraine are charging Russia with false war crimes charges against Ukrainian civilians.

Kosovo and Russia have formal relations through the Russian Liaison Office in Pristina. It has been open since 2005, but its public activity has been on display very little.

In recent years, Kosovo has declared some Russian diplomats undesirable people.

In the article in “Izvestia”, Lavrov has accused Kosovo and the international community of insisting on the Recak massacre, which occurred on January 15th 1999.

At this event, Serbian forces have killed and slaughtered 45 Albanian civilians.

Officials in Serbia and Russia have sometimes claimed that the “massacre has been invented”.

Lavrov has made the same charge in “Isvestia” and said, as well, that the West and Ukraine are charging Russia with false war crimes charges against Ukrainian civilians.

Kosovo and Russia have formal relations through the Russian Liaison Office in Pristina. It has been open since 2005, but its public activity has been on display very little.

In recent years, Kosovo has declared some Russian diplomats undesirable people.