BYPOL: Russian plane damaged by explosion at airfield in Belarus
Explosions occurred at the Belarusian military airfield “Machulishchi”, located 12 km from Minsk, on the morning of Sunday, February 26. The BYPOL opposition movement announced this on its Telegram channel.created by former employees of law enforcement agencies.
At first, activists wrote that as a result of at least two explosions, a Russian military transport plane and snowplows were damaged. It was reported that in the area of \u200b\u200bthe airfield, local residents observe a large number of military and traffic police teams who check every passing car. The cause of the explosions was not specified at the time.
Later, BYPOL reported that sabotage was committed at a military airfield, as a result of which a Russian military aircraft of early warning and control radar (AWACS) A-50 suffered serious damage – its frontal and central parts were damaged, as well such as avionics and a radar antenna.
BYPOL chief: Belarusian guerrillas set up sabotage
BYPOL head Oleksandr Azarov told Nasha Nivathat Belarusian partisans were involved in sabotage at the Machulishchi military airfield. In a comment for Belsat Azarov said that it was carried out with the help of drones and that all participants in the operation were already outside Belarus.
Information about the explosions at the airport was confirmed by journalist Anton Motolko and the Telegram channel “Belarus outside the Moscow Ring Road”. Russian military correspondents Yuri Kotenok and Semyon Pegov also wrote that the airfield was likely attacked by drones.
Authorities in Belarus and the Russian Federation have yet to comment on the incident. Journalists “Mirrors” contacted the Ministry of Emergency Situations and the Ministry of Defense of Belarus. The Ministry of Emergency Situations told the publication that there were no reports of explosions and, according to the Ministry of Defense, “nothing serious happened”.
What is known about the damaged Russian aircraft?
According to the monitoring group “Belarusian Gayun”, the AWACS A-50U aircraft of the Aerospace Forces of the Russian Federation with registration number RF-50608, which arrived in Belarus on January 3, 2023, was damaged. For 54 days, this board made 12 sorties. Its previous arrival in Belarusian territory was recorded on February 24, 2022.
According to the group, the Russian Aerospace Forces have only 9 of these aircraft, of which 6 are advanced. The cost of such an aircraft is estimated at 330 million dollars.
Meanwhile, the online publication Ukrainska Pravda recalls that aircraft carrying Kinzhal hypersonic missiles often take off from Machulishchi airfield, which is why Ukraine announces an air strike alert.
Source: DW
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