Belarusian Anti-Government Activists Claim Responsibility for Drone Attack on Russian Aircraft
In a shock move, Belarusian anti-government activists have claimed responsibility for what they said was a drone attack on a Russian A-50 surveillance aircraft at an airfield near the Belarus capital of Minsk on Sunday.
Speaking in an interview with Poland-based Belsat news channel, Aliaksandr Azarov, head of the Belarusian anti-government organization BYPOL, stated that those behind the attack were Belarusian and that they were now safe, outside of the country.
The attack was reported to have damaged the front and central parts of the aircraft as well as its radar antenna, according to BYPOL. The Beriev A-50, which has the NATO reporting name of ‘Mainstay’, is a Russian airborne early warning aircraft, capable of tracking up to 60 targets at a time.
Franak Viacorka, an adviser to Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, called the attack the most successful act of sabotage since the beginning of 2022, and Tsikhanouskaya herself expressed her pride in the anti-government activists, who she said were fighting for the freedom of Ukraine.
The attack comes at a delicate time in the region, with Russia and Belarus having set up a joint military unit in Belarus and having held numerous exercises. A number of Russian warplanes and airborne early warning and control aircraft have been deployed to Belarus.
In response to the attack, the Belarusian human rights group Vyasna reported that a woman was detained in Machulishchy, though there was no information as to whether or not the detention was related to the alleged sabotage of the aircraft.
The report of the attack has yet to be independently verified, and there has been no official confirmation from Russia or Belarus. However, if confirmed, it would be a major blow to the relationship between the two countries and could potentially lead to further tensions in the region.
