Romania expels pro-Russian Serb who tried to gather information on military objectives

A pro-Russian Serbian nationalist was expelled and banned from entering Romania for 15 years after the authorities found that he had tried to collect classified information on military objectives and infrastructure. Bratislav Zivkovic, 42, is the commander of the Serbian Chetnik organization, which is known for being a paramilitary organization with nationalist-chauvinist orientations. In 2014-2015, he participated on the side of the pro-Russian separatists (along with other Serbian volunteers, members of the organization) to the conflict in Ukraine. This year, Bratislav Zivkovic traveled several times to Romania with the purpose of collecting information, an activity which, “according to the legal framework in the field, pose risks and threats to national security,” reads a statement from the Romanian Intelligence Service (SRI). While in Romania, he tried to gather and then send state secrets to a foreign power or organization or their agents, and set up informational networks here. He was interested in obtaining classified documents on the critical infrastructure and national and allied military objectives in South-Eastern Romania, including the military base at Mihail Kogalniceanu, with the intention of affecting these strategic partnerships. A SRI spokesman said Bratislav Zivkovic had been caught while taking photos of military radars on the Black sea shore and trying to transmit their GPS coordinates. “All the actions carried out by the Serbian citizen in Romania had a clandestine character and a modus operandi specific to espionage,” according to SRI. “The specific measures undertaken by the Intelligence Directorate of the SRI have led to the prevention of exfiltration of classified information that could affect the national security interests.” Two German citizens expelled from Romania due to terrorist links Irina Marica, irina.marica@romania-insider.com (photo source: Sri.ro)