Russian suspected of destabilizing Moldova has digital traces found in Serbia
Express newspaper
07/10/2025 11:08
Russian citizen Sergei Alexandrovich Andreenkov – suspected of being an instructor in trainings to destabilize Moldova, organized in Serbia – most likely stayed in Serbia during September of this year, the digital traces he left behind show.
According to a source from the Montenegrin newspaper “Vijesti” in the security services, there is a suspicion that Andreenkov was an instructor of tactical-combat training for citizens of Moldova and Romania.
The Montenegrin Police Directorate did not respond to Radio Free Europe’s questions regarding these allegations.
There is no official information in Serbia about Andreenkov’s movements, but digital traces analyzed by Radio Free Europe show that he has stayed in the western part of this country.
For example, an account registered in Andreenkov’s name on the Strava app, which is used to connect people who engage in physical exercise, recorded data for a workout in September, near the Drina River, near Lloznica.
On September 26, the Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs (MUP) announced that, right near Loznica, “combat-tactical exercises for citizens of Moldova and Romania” had been organized.
For their organization, two Serbian citizens were arrested that day: Lazar Popović from Belgrade and Savo Stevanović from Loznica, former associates of the Minister without Portfolio in the Government of Serbia, Nenad Popović.
Popovic, by the way, is under United States sanctions for his ties to Russia.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić confirmed the existence of the camps, stressing that information about them was not obtained from state officials, but from private individuals.
“We got the information from completely private sources. If we do something well, we do the processing of foreigners,” Vucic said in an interview with Serbian television, Pink.
How was the email address obtained?
Radio Free Europe was able to obtain information about Andreenkov’s movements by comparing his email address, with which he had registered, with the applications he had installed on his phone using this address.
Alternatively, his email address can be found in the Russian business register, where Andreenkov had left this contact when registering a company in Russia, which is no longer active.
REL contacted Andreenkov through this address to request information about his stay in Serbia, but did not receive a response.
What is known about the exercises?
According to the announcement by the Serbian Ministry of Interior, the training organized in Serbia “was aimed at training to provide more effective physical resistance to Moldovan police officers, in the event of unrest during election day.”
The elections in Moldova were held on September 28. They were won by the Action and Solidarity Party, which supports a pro-European course, while its main opponents were pro-Russian parties.
The Serbian Interior Ministry further explained that the trainings took place during the period July 16 – September 12 and that around 150 to 170 Moldovan and Romanian citizens participated in them.
During this period, according to data from the “Strava” application, Andreenkov’s account was used from Serbia.
Analysis of three training sessions recorded on September 8, 9 and 12 shows the path he has followed.
In all cases, the place where the training began roughly matches the location of the “Sunçana reka” bar near the Drina River.
Who were the suspected instructors?
The names of the suspected instructors, Sergei Alexandrovich Andreenkov and Belarusian citizen Aliaksandr Hontarau, were published by the Montenegrin newspaper “Vijesti”, citing sources from the security services in Montenegro.
A source for this newspaper explained that Andreenkov and Hontarau entered Montenegro twice – the first time on August 10 in a car with Loznica license plates.
The second entry was on September 2, with the same car, and their stay in this location lasted less than an hour.
Radio Free Europe asked the Police Directorate in Montenegro whether the border and security services registered the entry of these citizens into Montenegro, what was the purpose of their visit and how long they stayed, but, by the time of publication of this article, it had not received a response.
REL also asked the Moldovan and Serbian Interior Ministries whether investigations are underway against Andreenkov or any other foreign national in connection with the case, but received no response.
Who is Sergei Alexandrovich Andreenkov?
According to information available online, Andreenkov is a former karateka and martial arts trainer, as well as a member of the mountain rescue association “Salvare”.
He is a member of “United Russia” – the party of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
In May of this year, he took part in the party’s primary elections for candidates for council members in Smolensk — a city near the border with Belarus — and came fourth out of six candidates. The data can be seen on the Russian ruling party’s website.
Data on his date of birth and place of residence match information from a deleted account on the Russian social network VK, which has been preserved in the Internet archive.
Based on facial recognition tools, Radio Free Europe identified Andreenkov at several United Russia party events.
In May of this year, he received an award from the Russian Ministry of Defense “for his contribution to strengthening the defense of the Russian Federation.”
During the award ceremony, it was announced that volunteers from Smolensk had participated in delivering ammunition, special equipment, food, and personal hygiene items to the front lines in the Belgorod and Kursk regions, where Ukrainian forces carried out a ground invasion in 2024.
On the official Telegram channel of Vitaly Ganchev, the head of the Russian military-civilian administration in the Kharkiv region of Ukraine, who is on the blacklists of the US, the UK and New Zealand, several photographs can be found showing Andreenkov’s activities.
For example, he is seen with Ganchev during the delivery of a military truck for transporting people and goods to the frontline area in Kharkiv, in July 2023. /REL/