Belarus charges opposition politicians with assisting Russian mercenaries in ‘terror’ plot

This follows wild allegations of a revolutionary plot by Russian mercenaries, explains Oliver Carroll

Thursday 30 July 2020 20:41 BST
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Alexander Lukashenko in Minsk on Thursday
Alexander Lukashenko in Minsk on Thursday

Ten days before the increasingly dramatic presidential elections, Belarus state media broke the wildest of stories.

A Russian mercenary force had been caught in Minsk plotting to disrupt the vote. The 33 men, said to be from the private Russian military firm Wagner, had disguised themselves as tourists at a sanatorium, but had given themselves away by their military clothing and “not drinking”.

Video footage broadcast on Wednesday of a dawn raid saw Belarusian KGB officers seize the soldiers and their motley collection of personal effects that included military insignia, dog tags, Arabic texts, Sudanese banknotes, SIM cards, and condoms.

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