Kathrine Frich
When the dust settles on a battlefield, the quiet search for answers begins.
It can take years to piece together what happened in the darkest corners of a conflict.
Sometimes, the trail leads straight to a seasoned fighter with a very long history of violence.
Tracking a mercenary
Ukrainian authorities are hunting down a veteran soldier. The Security Service of Ukraine recently issued an official war crimes notice for a man named Davor Savičić.
Investigators say the 46-year-old holds passports from both Russia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. They accuse him of orchestrating horrific abuse against civilians near Kyiv during the opening months of the war.
At the time, he commanded a Russian sabotage unit. According to United24Media, his squad of mercenaries set up a hidden camp in the deep forests outside Bucha.
Days in the forest
The official reports outline a chilling pattern of abuse. In one rural village, soldiers dragged a 39-year-old man from his shelter and hauled him into the woods.
The SBU claims Savičić ordered his men to beat the captive during intense interrogations. They reportedly tied him to a tree.
An armed grenade was left sitting right next to him. The victim refused to participate in Russian propaganda videos.
Because of his defiance, the unit allegedly forced him to dig a pit and left him bound inside it for a full week without food or water.
Seeking missing husbands
Another grim case took place in the nearby town of Ivankiv. Soldiers grabbed the wife of a Ukrainian military veteran and locked her inside a van.
Investigators say the woman survived days of harsh questioning. Her captors kept her in terrible conditions while demanding information about her husband.
When Russian troops finally retreated, search teams scoured the abandoned military positions. They eventually found the missing husband dead in the nearby trees, and police are still working to identify the men who pulled the trigger.
Deep intelligence ties
This suspected commander is not just a random volunteer. An investigation by Radio Free Europe identified Savičić as a colonel in Russian military intelligence.
Leaked hospital records connect his unit directly to a shadow network used to hire foreign fighters. His combat record goes back decades.
Before arriving in Ukraine, he reportedly fought in Syria and worked with the Wagner Group. International authorities are well aware of his violent past.
INTERPOL has tracked him for years, and both the UK and Ukraine have hit him with severe sanctions.
Sources: United24Media, Security Service of Ukraine, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
