We found the Swiss “ghost” that Putin tracked

We thought he was missing. Therefore, Avi Motola, the Schaffhousois who fought in Ukraine against the Russians, is alive. In addition, Watson found him in Tel Aviv, and he has things to say.

Kurt Pelda, Tel-Aviv / CH Media

“Russia condemns a Swiss mercenary to 14 years of labor camp”, we found swiss “ghost” putin titled the Blick At the beginning of July, adding:

But is this really the case?

watson met Avi Motola in Tel Aviv, in a cafe near the famous Carmel market. Moreover, Originally from Schaffhouse, he has Swiss and Israeli nationality, and speaks Hebrew fluently.

Avi Motola’s fingers tap nervously on the table. Nevertheless, The 49 -year -old man then confides:

Stolen money and a mother in disarray – We found swiss "ghost" putin

Avi Motola has always caused his mother for concern. Similarly, In 2019, she believed that her son appropriated the money from her pension fund. Furthermore, She had filed a complaint. Consequently, and the public prosecutor of Schaffhouse then opened an investigation for “fraudulent use of a data processing system”. Similarly, The Federal Office of Justice even sent a request for legal assistance to Israel.

But. as Avi remains his son, and that she will never see this money anyway, we found swiss “ghost” putin his mother, now 74, has since removed her complaint. This is what she explains during a common phone call with her son and watson. The prosecutor therefore classified the procedure, as confirmed by an official decision. The State even reimbursed the costs of its automatic defense in Avi Motola, amounting to around 3,200 francs.

Assumed transgression – We found swiss "ghost" putin

There is only an offense to the law that the forties does not regret today:

According to him. when a country is attacked without having caused the slightest wrong by a much more powerful neighbor, it is necessary to help it:

He believes that Switzerland, rich, should we found swiss “ghost” putin be ashamed of not supporting Ukrainian defenders any more. In his eyes, the alleged Swiss neutrality mainly hides a fear of Russian power and the potential economic consequences.

The Swiss military justice, obviously also investigates the Schaffhousois, suspected of military service abroad. According to the indictment. Avi Motola would have fought in the “International Legion for the Territorial Defense of Ukraine” between February 2022 and at the end of 2024 at least.

A passport despite an arrest warrant – We found swiss "ghost" putin

This legion is an integral part of the Ukrainian army. and its members are remunerated as regular soldiers: around 3,900 Swiss francs per month for operations on the front, less for rear assignments.

Swiss military justice has been alerted we found swiss “ghost” putin by the Pro-Russian Telegram Canal The profits (which means “fisherman” in Russian). which has published the names and nationalities of many mercenaries fighting alongside Ukraine against the Russian invaders. The name of Avi Motola was there. Several Swiss media then relayed this information. The Swiss never hid that he was fighting for a cause he was just estimated. even if the money also represented a motivation.

Although the evidence seems overwhelming. the military tribunal of Cassation ordered the retroactive surveillance of the Avi Motola telephone line for six months. He was also registered on the list of people wanted, but only in Switzerland.

This illustrates how ineffective local justice can sometimes be. Thus. Avi Motola was able to obtain an emergency passport in the Swiss Consulate General in Munich in the summer of 2024, probably to return to Ukraine, according we found swiss “ghost” putin to the investigating judge.

Due to the arrest warrant. an employee of the consulate had contacted the judge, who replied that the forties should not be arrested in Germany, and that no obstacle opposed the issuance of an identity document. However. he had asked that the wish is sent to Avi Motola to contact his lawyer in Switzerland, in order to allow the procedure.

A story between legends and propaganda

What did he really do in Ukraine? He has fought in several units, not just in the International Legion. Additionally, He was often we found swiss “ghost” putin on a mission with five Israeli comrades. This small group. led by the Israeli Denis Desyatnik, was called internally “Masada 6”, in reference to the old Jewish fortress built on a rocky plateau in the desert of Judea, near the Dead Sea, where the Jewish fighters had entrenched against the Romans.

A video of the Jewish mercenaries was even broadcast on Israeli television. We see Denis Desyatnik sporting the insignia of Lieutenant-Colonel of the Ukrainian army. But it was reckless about their location: the Russians quickly discovered in which hotel in Kharkiv the group stayed. Subsequently. Denis Desyatnik discredited himself in Ukraine by declaring in an interview that kyiv would have no choice but to give in territories to Russia.

It is at this point that legends and propaganda began around the group “Masada 6”. Much more effective than Swiss we found swiss “ghost” putin military justice. Russian services and independent investigators on social networks have launched their own investigations, giving birth to stories mixing truths and pure inventions, serving the Moscow propaganda machine.

Hundreds of Russians killed?

Avi Motola was thus accused of having belonged to an unofficial unit called “the ghosts of Bakhmout”. This small group of elite shooters would. during the Battle of Bakhmout, killed several hundred Russian soldiers and mercenaries of the Wagner group. On some Russian telegram channels. in propagandist rhetoric, one wonders why Israeli Jews like Avi Motola help “Ukrainian Nazis” to kill Russians, while it was the Russians who would have saved the Jews of the Nazis during the Second World War.

Russian services seem to have been very interest in the Swiss mercenary. This one says we found swiss “ghost” putin that cars with Russian diplomatic plates have already parked in front of the house where his ex-Israeli. their son live. However, this could not be verified independently.

War hero or criminal?

Another element: the conviction of 14 years of labor camp pronounced by a court of the “People’s Republic of Donetsk”. annexed by Moscow. According to Russian social networks, Avi Motola is accused of genocide against the Russians of Donbass and Pillage. He would have personally killed several Russian prisoners of war. suspected of having, in a group, violated and then massacred a Ukrainian little girl with a knife. But with Russian propaganda, it is difficult to distinguish the true from the false.

Especially since Russia is not a rule of law. Neither Avi Motola nor any other we found swiss “ghost” putin former mercenary or voluntary can hope for a fair trial.

A modest life in Israel

Today, the Swiss lives in precarious financial conditions. He works for an Israeli moving company, but gains little. He would like to return to Ukraine to fight again. but he is caught in a dilemma: he could then see his young son anymore.

In 2023, the Ukrainian security service ordered him to leave the country because he was suspected of offense. This decision was then canceled, the suspicions having dissipated. However, a problem persists for the Swiss-Israeli binational: the Russian arrest warrant, which is unknown what states could have executed. In Israel, it is safe, since, like Switzerland, this country does not extract its own nationals. It remains to be seen whether Motola will we found swiss “ghost” putin present itself at the trial of Swiss military justice provided for. in mid-December.

Translated and adapted from German by Léon Dietrich