Dejan Berić (, ; born 25 September 1974), simply known as Deki (Деки) is a Serbian volunteer in the

forces In physics, a force is an influence that can cause an object to change its velocity unless counterbalanced by other forces. In mechanics, force makes ideas like 'pushing' or 'pulling' mathematically precise. Because the magnitude and directi ...

of the

Donetsk People's Republic The Donetsk People's Republic (DPR; , ) is Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine, occupied territory in Ukraine that the Russian Federation has claimed to annex and declared as a Republics of Russia, republic of Russia, comprising parts o ...

with the rank of

Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

, who is fighting as a sniper in the ongoing

Russo-Ukrainian War The Russo-Ukrainian War began in February 2014 and is ongoing. Following Ukraine's Revolution of Dignity, Russia Russian occupation of Crimea, occupied and Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, annexed Crimea from Ukraine. It then ...

Biography

Early life and business career

Berić was born on 25 September 1974 in the village of Putinci in

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

. Until 2013, Berić owned a carpentry company, which operated for a few years. Allegedly, after it accrued heavy debts, Berić fired the workers and suddenly left the village. His wife and son live in Putinci and support themselves from his mother's pension. His father died a few years earlier in

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, on the construction site where he worked.

Crimea and the war in Donbas

Prior to the

2014 Winter Olympics The 2014 Winter Olympics, officially called the XXII Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Sochi 2014 (), were an international winter multi-sport event that was held from 7 to 23 February 2014 in Sochi, Russia. Opening ro ...

, Berić worked in

Sochi Sochi ( rus, Сочи, p=ˈsotɕɪ, a=Ru-Сочи.ogg, from – ''seaside'') is the largest Resort town, resort city in Russia. The city is situated on the Sochi (river), Sochi River, along the Black Sea in the North Caucasus of Souther ...

on constructing the

Olympic Village An Olympic Village is a residential complex built or reassigned for the Olympic Games in or nearby the List of Olympic Games host cities, host city for the purpose of accommodating all of the delegations. Olympic Villages are usually located clos ...

. Following the Olympics, Berić was recruited by Russian special services, left for

Crimea Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrain ...

and participated in its subsequent annexation by Russia. For this he was awarded the For the Return of Crimea medal. After 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 ...

started, Berić travelled to Ukraine through

Sevastopol Sevastopol ( ), sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea and a major port on the Black Sea. Due to its strategic location and the navigability of the city's harbours, Sevastopol has been an important port and naval base th ...

and joined the forces of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic as a sniper. According to the Ukrainian government, Berić was a mercenary leader of a sniper squad that has sought to kill members of the

Armed Forces of Ukraine The Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) are the Military, military forces of Ukraine. All military and security forces, including the Armed Forces, are under the command of the president of Ukraine and subject to oversight by a permanent Verkhovna Rad ...

at the line of separation. Berić received several decorations from the Donetsk People's Republic for his war merits, such as for killing Ukrainian snipers and shooting down spy drones. He was captured in July 2014 on the road between

Lugansk Luhansk (, ; , ), also known as Lugansk (, ; , ), is a city in the Donbas in eastern Ukraine. As of 2022, the population was estimated to be making Luhansk the 12th-largest city in Ukraine. Luhansk served as the administrative center of Luh ...

and the Russian-Ukrainian border. His freedom was paid for, so he continued to fight. It was reported that he was wounded in combat in 2018. The national intelligence agency of Serbia included Berić on the list of war mercenaries and considers him a threat to Serbia's national security, and in accordance with the Serbian laws, Berić could receive a multi-year prison sentence if he returns or if he is arrested and extradited to Serbia. Berić has appeared in pro-Russian media, inviting young people to join him. After the ceasefire in Donbas, Berić has been away from the front lines and has been increasingly present in the Russian media, including the mainstream media. He is usually presented to the Russian public as a hero and the most highly decorated fighter. He most often comments on the situation in eastern Ukraine and

Kosovo Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe with International recognition of Kosovo, partial diplomatic recognition. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the ...

, calling the

OSCE The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is a regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization comprising member states in Europe, North America, and Asia. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, the pr ...

and the

Red Cross The organized International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 16million volunteering, volunteers, members, and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ...

spies and

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 ...

a terrorist organization. Berić was present at a press conference by Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman

Maria Zakharova Maria Vladimirovna Zakharova (, ; born 24 December 1975) is a Russian politician who serves as the director of the information and press department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Russia), Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federa ...

in Moscow. Berić asked her questions about the conflict in eastern Ukraine and Russia's position on

. In March 2021, Berić announced that he is returning to the front lines due to the increased tensions between Ukraine and Russia. Inspired by his war experiences, he wrote the book "''When the Dead Speak''", and a documentary film by Olya Schechter, called "''A Sniper's War"'' was filmed about him.

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine

After Russia started its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Berić was reportedly assigned the task of recruiting new Serbian fighters. In December 2022, Berić met with, and interviewed, alleged newly arrived Serbian volunteers. On June 26.2025. it was reported that Dejan is inde
arrestation
by Russian forces because he is allegedly been a civilan fighting and that he was kicked from the army in 2017

Awards

Medal 'Return of Crimea' Medal 'Russian Hero'

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beric, Dejan 1974 births Living people People from Ruma Pro-Russian people of the war in Donbas Pro-Russia foreign volunteers in the Russian invasion of Ukraine Serbian military personnel Military snipers