Mercenaries from the infamous Russian group "Wagner" are working with Serbian paramilitaries in smuggling weapons and military uniforms into Kosovo, President Vjosa Osmani warned. 

Secret operations are creating a basis to launch a possible hybrid attack from Serbia to annex territories of Kosovo, the president of the country claimed in an interview for the British newspaper, The Telegraph. 

The alleged preparations by Serbia are related to the annexation of Crimea by Russia in 2014, when Russian soldiers in "military uniforms" without any distinguishing marks prepared the way for the separation of the peninsula from Ukraine. 

"They bring weapons and uniforms, but they are not formally part of the Serbian army. Serbia wants to achieve its goals without being called a military operation," Osmani asserted. 

The objective of the Serbs is to "prepare the situation for a possible annexation, not through a traditional military operation, but through a hybrid attack." 

Serbs in the north of Kosovo opposed the removal of illegal license plates issued by Serbia. They blocked the roads by erecting barricades. The crisis worsened in December after the president of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, who does not recognize the independence of Kosovo, threatened to send the Serbian army to the north of Kosovo, writes the British medium. 

Meanwhile, the president of Kosovo asserted that Belgrade continues to raise tensions in the region, in cooperation with Russia's Wagner, who has recently started recruiting Serbs for the war in Ukraine. 

"If you look at what Putin did in 2014, it's the same game. First he instrumentalized the Russians living there, then he set up all kinds of false flag operations and finally sent these paramilitary groups. There is clear evidence that Serbian paramilitary groups planned and organized this (with Wagner). How many were at the border or inside (the territory of Kosovo), this is a matter that is still being investigated", she asserted. 

We recall that Russia launched the unjustifiable invasion of the Ukrainian state on February 24, causing thousands of victims and extensive damage to infrastructure.