The self-proclaimed president of Belarus Oleksandr Lukashenko informed about the arrest of a "terrorist of the Ukrainian special services and his henchmen" who were allegedly involved in an attempted sabotage at the Machulishchi airfield against a Russian A-50 radar aircraft.
He said this during the award ceremony, the Belarusian Telegraph Agency cites.
According to Lukashenko, the operation began "eight months or six months ago in Kyiv."
"The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), the leadership of the CIA, either from the side or behind the back, are developing an operation against Belarus. A terrorist was prepared. He is Russian, with a Russian passport, and a Ukrainian passport. Born in Kryvyi Rih, lived in Crimea. Some relatives are in Austria, some of them stayed in Kyiv. He was recruited by the special service of Ukraine in 2014. He is an IT specialist. He was preparing to commit terrorist acts," Lukashenko noted and admitted that the A-50 was sent to Russia for repairs.
Lukashenko also stated that more than 20 "accomplices" involved in sabotage were detained in Belarus.
- On the morning of February 26, explosions rang out at the Belarusian airfield in Machulishchi, damaging a Russian military aircraft DRLO A-50 (here is a video from a drone that hit the plane). On March 2, the damaged A-50 was sent to Russia for repair.
- On March 5, mass searches began in Belarus due to the explosions at the Machulishchi airfield. Human rights center "Vyasna" informs that the searches are carried out by KGB employees. Everyone who was tried or punished under political administrative articles from 2020 to 2023 was under suspicion. It is already known that at least 10 people have been detained. Detainees are sent to the detention center of the KGB.