If there is anything alarming happening in the Balkans right now, it is that the Russian private army "Wagner" is opening an office in Belgrade.

The goal of the office is very clear - fight against anti-Russian sentiments, commented international analyst Dragomir Mladenov. 

"The center's team calls its mission the implementation of public diplomacy, the purpose of which is to strengthen and develop friendly relations between Russia and Serbia with the help of "soft power".

News of the center's opening comes amid heightened tensions between Serbia and Kosovo, after a row over Pristina's new rules on car license plates sparked a mass exodus of Serbs from Kosovo's state institutions.

Novini.bg/ Canva

On the one hand, "Wagner" is slowly starting to privatize part of the functions of the Russian Federation - army, and now also diplomatic activity.

The combat experience of the mercenary army is already quite rich - Africa, Syria, Eastern Ukraine at the moment.

The unit demonstrates fighting ability, high spirit and honest successes.

The threat to the region comes from the fact that the main activity of "Wagner" is military, and this makes me skeptical that the activity of the newly created center will be limited to diplomacy only.

Croatia declared its support to Bulgaria and Romania for Schengen

From there, we can also expect a strengthening of the opposition to the European integration processes in the region, which are in any case questionable.

I remind you that in Nis, very close to the Bulgarian border, there is a Russian "humanitarian" center, which many Western security experts define as a Russian bridgehead in the region.

At the same time, Serbia is rapidly re-equipping with Chinese drones, Russian air defenses, aircraft and ground vehicles.

Bulgaria must wisely navigate the situation and take care of its own and allied security by rapidly increasing its defense capacity," Mladenov wrote.