Serbian mercenary Davor Savičić served notice of suspicion over war crimes in Ukraine
The Security Service of Ukraine, jointly with the Defence Intelligence of the Ministry of Defence, has served a notice of suspicion on Bosnian mercenary Davor Savičić over war crimes committed during Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine.
Censor.NET reports this, citing the project "Book of Executioners of the Ukrainian People."
Savičić was served with the notice of suspicion on 22 May 2026 under the article on violation of the laws and customs of war.
Who is Davor Savičić?
According to the investigation, Davor Savičić was born in Bosnia and Herzegovina, lives in the Russian city of Khimki, and holds citizenship of Russia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
He is a serviceman of the Redut private military company with the rank of colonel.
Savičić previously served in the Serbian paramilitary formation Serbian Volunteer Guard, known as Arkan’s Tigers, where he had the call sign Elvis.
In 2014, he was spotted among Serbian militants who took part in the occupation of parts of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts.
According to the investigation, Savičić was also in Syria together with mercenaries from the Wagner PMC.
During Russia’s full-scale invasion, he commanded the Wolves sabotage and reconnaissance unit, which operated as part of the Russian Vostok grouping and took part in the occupation of settlements in Kyiv and Zhytomyr oblasts.
The investigation alleges two episodes of cruel treatment of civilians during the occupation of Kyiv Oblast in March 2022.
Torture of a man in Fedorivka
According to the investigation, on 3 March 2022, Russian troops led by Savičić detained a local resident in the village of Fedorivka who was hiding from shelling.
The man was forced to undress, his hands were tied, his eyes were covered, and he was taken to a forest between the villages of Shybene and Krasnyi Rih.
There, he was tied to a tree, a grenade with its pin pulled out was placed between his back and the trunk, and he was left under threat of explosion for about two hours.
After that, the victim was interrogated about the positions of Ukraine’s Armed Forces and was forced to record false statements for Russian propaganda media.
When the man refused, Savičić, according to the investigation, beat him with the butt of an assault rifle.
The victim was also forced to dig a pit, where he was unlawfully held for several days in sub-zero temperatures with almost no food or water.
Detention of a woman in Ivankiv
The second episode concerns a resident of Ivankiv.
The investigation says that on 5 March 2022, Russian troops broke into her apartment, tied her hands, and took her to a forest near the village of Shybene.
The woman was held in a van until 8 March.
During interrogation, Savičić allegedly demanded information from her about Ukrainian troops and forced her to take part in a staged interview for Russian propaganda.
To intimidate her, he threatened the victim and imitated hitting her with a chair.
What the suspect faces
Savičić’s actions were qualified under Part 2 of Article 28 and Part 1 of Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine: violation of the laws and customs of war.
The investigation believes that he violated norms of international humanitarian law, including the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.
