Ukraine involved in to destroy Russian aircraft, says Lukashenko

• Alexander Lukashenko said the attacker was an IT specialist.
• With dual Russian and Ukrainian citizenship who had been hired by the Ukrainian secret service in 2014.
• The plane did not suffer any significant damage, except scratches and one hole in the hull.

A botched attempt to shoot down a Russian airliner at a Belarusian airstrip allegedly resulted to the detention of a “terrorist” who was a member of the Ukrainian special forces, according to Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.

Last month, an effort was made to damage a Russian A-50 surveillance aircraft deployed at the Machulishchi airfield outside of Minsk, according to Lukashenko and the “terrorist accomplices.”

“Thanks to our operatives — the State Security Committee, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and border guards — we identified and detained him,” Lukashenko said at an awards ceremony in Minsk on Tuesday.

“To date, more than 20 accomplices who are on the territory of Belarus have been detained.”

According to Lukashenko, the attacker was an IT specialist with dual Russian and Ukrainian citizenship who had been hired by the Ukrainian secret service in 2014.

He claimed to have crossed into Russia from Latvia and then made his way to Minsk.

“Unfortunately, Russian border guards missed him,” said Lukashenko, who also alleged that the CIA was involved in the plot.

“Fortunately, the plane did not suffer any significant damage, except, as they say, scratches and one hole in the hull, which does not interfere with the military aircraft from performing its duties,” he said.

A partisan organisation from Belarus claimed last month that it had used a drone to significantly damage the airliner, but no tangible proof of the damage was provided.

Also Read

China to host Belarusian leader Lukashenko amid Ukraine tensions

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko is scheduled to arrive in Beijing on Tuesday....