Bratislav Živković (; 12 November 1975 – 3 January 2025) was a Serbian volunteer in the

Russian Army The Russian Ground Forces (), also known as the Russian Army in English, are the Army, land forces of the Russian Armed Forces. The primary responsibilities of the Russian Ground Forces are the protection of the state borders, combat on land, ...

leading a contingent of fellow Serbs against Ukraine.

Biography

In 2012, Živković was among a group of Serbian nationalists who erected barricades in

North Kosovo North Kosovo (, ); also known as the Ibar Kolašin (, or ''Kollashini i Ibrit''); earlier Old Kolašin, (, or ''Kollashini i Vjetër'') and colloquially known as the North (, ) is a region in the northern part of Kosovo, generally understood ...

to prevent Kosovar authorities from reaching Serb municipalities. Živković was the commander of a Serbian

Chetnik The Chetniks,, ; formally the Chetnik Detachments of the Yugoslav Army, and also the Yugoslav Army in the Homeland; and informally colloquially the Ravna Gora Movement, was a Kingdom of Yugoslavia, Yugoslav royalist and Serbian nationalist m ...

group that participated as part of the

little green men Little green men is the stereotypical portrayal of extraterrestrials as little humanoids with green skin and sometimes antennae on their heads. The term "little green men" came into popular usage in reference to aliens during the reports of ...

that invaded and annexed Crimea for Russia claiming a shared Orthodox faith and respect for Russia, as well as receiving a hefty financial reward. During the annexation his Chetniks manned checkpoints alongside Russian Cossack formations. He later served as a " Russian Separatist" during the

War in Donbas The war in Donbas, or the Donbas war, was a phase of the Russo-Ukrainian War in the eastern Donbas region of Ukraine. The war Timeline of the war in Donbas (2014), began in April 2014, when Russian separatist forces in Ukraine, Russian para ...

as part of the "Unité Continentale" foreign volunteer unit within the Luhansk People’s Republic. In 2015, Živković attempted to smuggle a group of his Chetniks into northern

Macedonia Macedonia (, , , ), most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a former administr ...

to participate in anti-Albanian fighting in Kumanovo but was detained at the border. Živković was banned from

Montenegro , image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg , coa_size = 80 , national_motto = , national_anthem = () , image_map = Europe-Mont ...

in 2015 due to his participation in the Russian war effort. Živković has also been banned from

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

in 2017 for his participation in the Russian war effort. In 2017 Živković was detained in Romania and eventually expelled from the country, and barred from setting foot in any

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

country on charges of Russian espionage. The

Romanian Intelligence Service The Romanian Intelligence Service (, abbreviated SRI) is Romania's main domestic intelligence service. Its role is to gather information relevant to national security and hand it over to relevant institutions, such as Romanian Government, presid ...

stated that Živković was "showing interest in obtaining classified documents on critical infrastructure and national and allied military objectives located in south-east Romania with the intention of affecting our strategic partnerships." In 2017 he visited the port city of

Constanța Constanța (, , ) is a city in the Dobruja Historical regions of Romania, historical region of Romania. A port city, it is the capital of Constanța County and the country's Cities in Romania, fourth largest city and principal port on the Black ...

four separate times and was caught photographing military radars and the Mihail Kogălniceanu airbase. Živković was arrested in Serbia in 2018 for "organising participation in a war or armed conflict in a foreign country", namely for his involvement in the Russian annexation of Crimea and the War in the Donbas. In February of that year another 28 members of his Chetnik organization were convicted in

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

of the same offense. Živković and his Chetniks were active members of the

Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

. He was seriously injured in the opening phase of the conflict, and was later killed by Ukrainian forces during the

Kursk offensive The Battle of Kursk, also called the Battle of the Kursk Salient, was a major World War II Eastern Front (World War II), Eastern Front battle between the forces of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union near Kursk in southwestern Russia during the ...

on 3 January 2025. Živković was 49.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zivkovic, Bratislav 1975 births 2025 deaths People from Kruševac Pro-Russian people of the war in Donbas Pro-Russia foreign volunteers in the Russian invasion of Ukraine Serbian soldiers Serbian monarchists Serbian nationalists Russian military personnel killed in the Russian invasion of Ukraine Chetniks Mercenaries killed in action Burials at the Federal Military Memorial Cemetery