The exiled Belarusian opposition announced Sunday that a Russian aircraft for intelligence gathering, surveillance, reconnaissance and control was destroyed at an airport near Minskduring what he called “the most successful sabotage operation” in the country since its inception. war in Ukraine.

“The militants (…) confirmed the success of the special operation to blow up a rare Russian aircraft at the Machulitsa airport near Minsk,” Franak Vyakorka, adviser and close associate of Svetlana Chikanusskaya, a prominent figure in Belarus, reports the Belarusian opposition on Twitter.

According to Mr. Vyakorkas, “the operation was carried out by two Belarusians” using UAVs. “They have already left the country and are safe,” he added.

He did not directly name the type of destroyed aircraft, but emphasized that its cost is 330 million euros, and posted a photo that leaves little doubt. According to media close to the opposition, it was a Soviet-designed A-50.

“I am proud of all Belarusians who continue to resist the hybrid Russian occupation of Belarus and fight for the freedom of Ukraine,” Chikanuskaya wrote on Twitter.

These statements by the leaders of the Belarusian opposition in exile cannot be independently verified. The Russian military did not react in any way to the information about the destruction of the flying radar.

Belarus, Russia’s only ally in Europe in the war in Ukraine, is not directly involved in Russian operations, but allowed its territory to be used when the offensive began a year ago.

According to Kyiv, Moscow uses Belarusian airfields to strike targets in Ukraine.

In recent months, Russia and Belarus have increased the number of joint military universities. The government of Ukraine expresses fears that Belarus will be actively involved in the conflict. Minsk declares that it will not enter the war unless it is attacked.

^{Source: APE-MEB, AFP.}