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Belarus' Belta reports that 32 Russian Wagner private military contractors were detained last night near Minsk. Belarusian law enforcement say they received information that >200 Wagner contractors arrived to destabilize Belarus during the election. https://www.belta.by/incident/view/pod-minskom-zaderzhany-32-boevika-inostrannoj-chastnoj-voennoj-kompanii-dopolneno-400500-2020/
Belta reports that the group arrived in Belarus on July 24-25 and checked into a hotel in Minsk and then moved to a sanatorium. Belta's sources say that each man had hand luggage and 3 large suitcases. They were arrested by the Belarusian KGB's Alfa group and an OMON unit. 2/
Here is the list of 33 Russian citizens who were detained by the Belarusian security services. 32 were detained near Minsk and one was detained in southern Belarus. 3/
Screenshots of the arrest of the alleged Russian Wagner private military contractors in Belarus. 4/
https://t.me/milinfolive/61723
https://t.me/milinfolive/61723
Video of the arrest of the alleged Russian Wagner private military contractors near Minsk by the Belarusian KGB’s Alfa group. 5/
https://t.me/infantmilitario/42194
https://t.me/infantmilitario/42194
Screenshots from the video. The patches are similar to what Russian private military contractors wear. Also note the US Dollars. A lot of the gear, including shemaghs, are normal for people who have fought in MENA. 6/
The War Gonzo Telegram channel is saying that Minsk has been used as a intermediate stop for Wagner contractors flying to MENA (mostly Libya) during COVID-19 and that Lukashenko personally approved of this and knew of their presence. 7/ https://t.me/Army_Russia/8697
They say that Belarusian security services were aware of the presence of Wagner contractors, and that Belarus was used because it was less affected by COVID-19 during much of this time (also probably why they waited there for more than a week). 8/
This is a plausible explanation. And thus Lukashenko may have decided to roll this group up to show that he is standing up to Russia during the election campaign (which isn't going very well) and to try to unite voters behind him. 9/
According to the Ukrainian site Myrotvorets, which tracks combatants who fought in Ukraine, three of the detained Russians fought in the Donbass. 10/
https://vk.com/milinfolive?w=wall-123538639_1528486
https://vk.com/milinfolive?w=wall-123538639_1528486
Myrotvorets has a fourth name from the group, Maksim Koshman. 11/
https://vk.com/milinfolive?z=photo-123538639_457474441%2Fwall-123538639_1528486
https://vk.com/milinfolive?z=photo-123538639_457474441%2Fwall-123538639_1528486
The War Gonzo Telegram account is also saying that none of the Wagner contractors were armed, further adding doubt that they were intending to do something in Belarus. And their equipment/outfits certainly indicated that they were likely going to MENA. 12/ https://t.me/wargonzo/3105
In addition, Wagner is currently heavily involved in Libya, and it is increasingly likely that a large battle will occur in the city of Sirte in the near future. These contractors arrested in Belarus may have been much needed reinforcements. 13/ https://twitter.com/RALee85/status/1288271102502830080
So apparently some of the cash seized was Sudanese, which could indicate that Sudan was their ultimate destination. 14/ https://twitter.com/SvobodaRadio/status/1288464211945967616
5 days ago Lukashenko said, "State Secretary Andrei Ravkov was right when he said that all modern wars begin with street protests, rallies and Maidan-type revolutions. If there are not enough people here to take part in such revolutions, they will bring them from abroad." 15/
"These are professional military, gangsters who are specially trained, mostly as part of private military companies all over the world and they make big money from staging provocations in various states,” 16/
http://president.gov.by/en/news_en/view/working-trip-to-pukhovichi-district-24106/
http://president.gov.by/en/news_en/view/working-trip-to-pukhovichi-district-24106/
Reportedly, 16 of the 33 Russians detained by Belarus are on the Myrotvorets list of people who fought in Ukraine (h/t @666_mancer). 17/
https://twitter.com/PetrMazepa/status/1288467559478702082
https://twitter.com/PetrMazepa/status/1288467559478702082
Ukraine's former Foreign Minister, Pavlo Klimkin, says that Ukraine should ask for the extradition of any of the detained Wagner contractors who fought in the Donbass for trial and possibly for a prisoner swap. 18/ https://twitter.com/PavloKlimkin/status/1288456144856416257
Russia's embassy in Belarus said that they have not received any official notification from Belarusian authorities about the detention of Russian citizens, and they have requested information from Belarus. 19/ https://twitter.com/RusEmbassyMinsk/status/1288459236029149188
During the emergency meeting of his security council, Lushenko said, “I've invited you to look into the matter of this, one can say, emergency that happened this night. There is no other word for it.” 22/
https://eng.belta.by/president/view/lukashenko-calls-urgent-security-council-meeting-to-discuss-arrest-of-foreign-militants-132103-2020/
https://eng.belta.by/president/view/lukashenko-calls-urgent-security-council-meeting-to-discuss-arrest-of-foreign-militants-132103-2020/
Lukashenko continued, “I've been looking at how the Russians respond to it. As they make excuses, they go nearly as far as saying we've brought them here on our own. It is clear they need to justify their dirty intentions in some manner." 23/
"We should contact Russian mass media, including Telegram, so that they wouldn't talk rubbish as Putin says. If they are guilty, it is necessary to find a decent way out of this situation. If they are not guilty, we have no intention of besmirching a friendly country." 24/
Kommersant has information on 3 of the Russians who were detained. A Fyodor Mikhailovich Sergeev from Astrakhan with the same birth date is in the Mirotvorets database and has a profile on Odnoklassniki. He previously served in the Internal Troops. 25/ https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/4434527
Most of his profile is devoted to the war in the Donbass. A Takhir Minigayanovich Bakhtigaraev is also in the Myrotvorets database and reportedly served as driver-mechanic in the Wagner's 4th Reconnaissance and Assault Company. 26/
The 3rd mentioned by Kommersant is Andrey Petrovich Bakunovich. There are earlier articles about a sniper from the 201st Military Base stationed in Tajikistan with the same name who reportedly received the Order of Courage award for his service in Debaltseve in 2015. 27/
Bakunovich was reportedly born in Belarus and is a Belarusian and Russian citizen. He was the commander of a group of Wagner snipers. 28/
https://naviny.belsat.eu/ru/news/belorusskij-spisok-vagnera-2-iz-11-ubity-gde-sejchas-ostalnye/
https://naviny.belsat.eu/ru/news/belorusskij-spisok-vagnera-2-iz-11-ubity-gde-sejchas-ostalnye/
The head of the Belarusian KGB, Valery Vakulchik, told the security council that he was absolutely certain the 32 Russians arrested near Minsk were from the Wagner PMC. 29/
https://t.me/infantmilitario/42218
https://t.me/infantmilitario/42218
Obviously it is early and we don't have all the facts, but it seems highly likely the arrest of these 33 Russian Wagner contractors has more to do with domestic Belarusian politics and the election than it does with foreign interference. 30/
It appears none of them were armed; they were rolling around in a group of 30 wearing tactical gear, packs, and apparel (i.e. quite conspicuous); they were reportedly keeping to themselves and not hitting the bars or casinos; and weren't dressed to fit in in Minsk. 31/
Hard to imagine such a group would think they would go unnoticed by the security services. Plus, intervening before the election would be a risky move considering that Lukashenko will still likely survive the election and he's better than the alternatives for Moscow. 32/
This arrest has clearly left Moscow surprised. If they were actually trying to destabilize Belarus, they wouldn't be caught as flat-footed as they appear here and they would likely have courses of action and forces ready to respond. There's no indication that is true here. 33/
Everything about the demeanor, actions, and dress of the group detained in Belarus indicates that they were traveling through. It also indicates that they knew the Belarusian security services knew they were in Belarus and that they were allowed to be there. 34/
So the War Gonzo explanation that Minsk has been serving as a transit hub for Wagner during COVID-19 to travel to North Africa makes sense. And Wagner is currently very busy in Libya with an expected battle for Sirte over the coming weeks. 35/
If that is true, I suspect Belarus will release or PNG these Wagner contractors soon after the election. But this action also makes it less likely that Russia would come to Lukashenko's aid if the protests continue. 36/
Another video of the arrest of the Wagner contractors by Belarusian KGB Alfa officers. 37/
Another video of Belarusian KGB Alfa officers arresting the Russian Wagner private military contractors. The video also shows the identities of many of the arrested individuals. 38/
The PMC-linked account RSOTM is claiming that the arrested figures in Belarus aren’t just Russian and they belong to the Mar PMSC. They were just traveling through Belarus and were suppposed to fly to Turkey before flying elsewhere in the Middle East. 39/
https://t.me/grey_zone/3948
https://t.me/grey_zone/3948
A better look at the "Our business is death and business is going well" and a Jolly Roger patch. 40/
And screenshots of their passports. 41/
Passport and other photos of the private military contractors. 42/
Passport and other photos of the private military contractors. 43/
Passport and other photos of the private military contractors. 44/
Passport and other photos of the private military contractors. 45/
Passport photos of the private military contractors. 46/
Passport photos of the private military contractors. 47/
Passport photos of the private military contractors. 48/
Passport photos of the private military contractors. 49/
Passport photos of the private military contractors. 50/
So the RSOTM Telegram page also claims that the contractors were headed to Turkey where they were going to fly to Libya (either Tripoli or Misrata) to guard an oil facility for the Turkish-backed GNA. 51/
@YorukIsik has tracked a few military transport aircraft flights from Minsk to MENA. 52/ https://twitter.com/yorukisik/status/1196692318868430848?s=21 https://twitter.com/yorukisik/status/1196692318868430848
So there is a video of the Mar PMSC, whose members are reportedly the ones arrested in Belarus, that shows some of their training, which is not particularly impressive. 53/
The second half of that training video with the Mar PMSC. 54/
https://t.me/sashakots/14734
https://t.me/sashakots/14734
Aric has a good thread with additional information about the detained private military contractors in Belarus. 55/
https://twitter.com/arictoler/status/1288579158721859584?s=21 https://twitter.com/arictoler/status/1288579158721859584
https://twitter.com/arictoler/status/1288579158721859584?s=21 https://twitter.com/arictoler/status/1288579158721859584
The logo of the Mar PMC from its website which doesn't appear to work anymore. 56/
https://chvk-mar.ru/en/
https://chvk-mar.ru/en/
Russia's Pravda says that, according to informed Belarusian sources, the detained Russians belong to the Mar and not Wagner PMC and that Artyom Milyaev was responsible for recruitment. 57/
https://www.pravda.ru/news/world/1516599-Belarus/
https://www.pravda.ru/news/world/1516599-Belarus/
Marushchenko said he took part in the annexation of Crimea and then formed Mar in the fall of 2014. He said his group was operating in war zones (though not the Donbass even though he said he was ready to help) primarily to deliver cargo and escort humanitarian convoys. 59/
*He said his group wasn't fighting in the Donbass but they were helping evacuate people from there and conduct investigations. He said he had 70 people in his PMC in the Donbass in September 2015, who were almost all former military servicemen and were at least 26-years old. 60/
Marushchenko said he was a senior lieutenant in the reserves at the time and said the Russian government neither helped nor hindered his operations in the Donbass. He also said his mother was from Ukraine, whereas his father is from Russia. 61/
He was asked if a Donbass-type situation occurred in Belarus or Kazakhstan whether he would take part. He said he would but didn't think such a situation would occur, specifically saying that Lukashenko would not allow that to happen. 62/
The Russian Ambassador to Belarus, Dmitry Mezentsev, said the 33 Russians individuals detained in Belarus were just transiting through the country, and that they moved to the sanatorium because they missed their flight on July 25 to Istanbul. 64/
https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/4435182?from=hotnews
https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/4435182?from=hotnews
The Investigative Committee of Belarus said the 33 Russians were detained on suspicion of preparing mass riots. Belarusian authorities are also searching for the other 170 Russian private military contractors whom they say are in Belarus. 66/ https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/4434992
When the arrest of the 33 was announced, Belarusian sources told Belta that more than 200 were suspected of being in Belarus. Zakhar Prilepin said that they were supposed to fly out of Minsk today and that other members of their group may have already left. 67/
Russia's ambassador to Belarus, Dmitry Mezentsev, also said, "the Russian citizens may be employees of a private security company, contracted with protection of energy infrastructure and resources abroad - not in Belarus." 68/ https://tass.com/emergencies/1184211
And that the Russians were in Belarus because of "a contract, signed with one of commercial companies, registered here in Belarus," adding that "each of them had a labor contract with this company." 69/
The State Secretary of the Security Council of Belarus, Andrey Ravkov, said the Russians were arrested on suspicion of “the preparation of terrorist acts” and that some of the captured men confessed to trying to orchestrate a revolution. 70/ https://www.reuters.com/article/us-belarus-election/russia-says-suspected-mercenaries-detained-by-belarus-are-wrongly-accused-idUSKCN24V179
Belarusian authorities say they believe the husband of opposition presidential candidate Svetlana Tikhanouskaya may have ties to the Russian group and have launched a criminal case against him on suspicion of inciting riots, Belta news agency reported. 71/ https://www.reuters.com/article/us-belarus-election/russia-says-suspected-mercenaries-detained-by-belarus-are-wrongly-accused-idUSKCN24V179
The War Gonzo Telegram channel says that the first batch of Russian private military contractors flew out of Minsk a week ago. The second batch was the group that was arrested. 73/ https://t.me/wargonzo/3119
The Russian Foreign Ministry's statement calls Belarus' characterization of the events "odious." It says a Belarusian company took care of the logistics and the group was transiting through Belarus to fly to Istanbul with all necessary documents. 74/
https://mid.ru/ru/foreign_policy/news/-/asset_publisher/cKNonkJE02Bw/content/id/4276463
https://mid.ru/ru/foreign_policy/news/-/asset_publisher/cKNonkJE02Bw/content/id/4276463
The Russian MFA's statement says the group missed its flight for unknown reasons and was waiting while the Belarusian company booked tickets for a new flight. It says the Belarusian authorities, including aviation officials, have all the documents to determine what happened. 75/
Real chef's kiss moment if this was the plane that flew the first group of Russian private military contractors. 76/ https://twitter.com/YorukIsik/status/1288958496076111872
So Komsomolskaya Pravda did an interview with the founder of the Mar PMC, Alexei Marushchenko. Mar was reportedly the 1st PMC to be registered in St. Petersburg in 2014, but it disappeared in 2018. Marushchenko confirms that it no longer exists. 77/
https://www.spb.kp.ru/daily/217162/4261986/
https://www.spb.kp.ru/daily/217162/4261986/
Marushchenko says he is retired from the PMC world and has no involvement with the Russians detained in Belarus, nor does he know any of them. He also thinks they were just transiting through Belarus to fly somewhere else. 78/
Honestly, if Russia intended to interfere in an election in Belarus, a strategically very important neighbor, they wouldn't rely on private military contractors. That would be an obvious job for its well-funded intelligence services. 79/ https://twitter.com/PjotrSauer/status/1288763806395572224
80/
https://twitter.com/sarahrainsford/status/1289138863554867201?s=21 https://twitter.com/sarahrainsford/status/1289138863554867201
https://twitter.com/sarahrainsford/status/1289138863554867201?s=21 https://twitter.com/sarahrainsford/status/1289138863554867201
According to the Investigative Committee of Belarus' Alexander Agafonov, of the Russians who were detained, 11 said they were flying to Venezuela, 15 to Turkey, 2 to Cuba, 1 to Syria, 1 who didn't know where he was going, and 3 refused to say anything. 81/ https://tass.ru/mezhdunarodnaya-panorama/9099505
The Russian embassy's Kirill Pletnev: "I would like to point out that it (the Belarusian detention order) refers to willful acts by a group of people colluding with Tikhanovsky and Statkevich, which, in our view, is a far-fetched position," 82/ https://tass.com/world/1184799
Lukashenko: "I see our older brothers have fallen silent. They are no longer shouting that they sent these guys to Istanbul...It is clear that this group had other objectives. And the task of the investigation is to figure out these objectives." 83/
http://president.gov.by/ru/news_ru/view/doklad-predsedatelja-kgb-valerija-vakulchika-i-predsedatelja-sledstvennogo-komiteta-ivana-noskevicha-24156/
http://president.gov.by/ru/news_ru/view/doklad-predsedatelja-kgb-valerija-vakulchika-i-predsedatelja-sledstvennogo-komiteta-ivana-noskevicha-24156/
Lukashenko added, "They (the detained Russian PMC contractors) are, of course, guilty" but he said they are "soldiers" who were following orders. He said they shouldn't be treated harshly and instead should focus on who sent them. 84/
In contrast to other reports that the group detained was the last batch transiting through Belarus, Lukashenko said, "My understanding is that this is only the first group of 180 or 200 people that was planned to be transferred to Belarus" 85/
Lukashenko said that in Belarus only the President can authorize Russian military personnel to travel to the country, whether with or without military equipment. He said no one gave permission and that they have serious suspicions about the Russian group's objectives. 86/
The War Gonzo Telegram channel says that its sources in the Russian SVR, Belarusian security services, and Wagner, say that Belarusian SOF, including the KGB Alfa unit that arrested the 33 Russians, have been providing security for Chinese oil companies in Venezuela and Sudan.87/
It says that China uses Belarusian SOF to guard its oil facilities in places where Chinese and Russian interests might conflict, and alleges that the arrest of the Russian military contractors could have been driven by these Chinese companies. 88/
https://t.me/wargonzo/3144
https://t.me/wargonzo/3144
Regnum was able to find the electronic tickets for every Russian detained in Belarus, showing they were scheduled to fly from Minsk to Istanbul on July 25 with Turkish Airlines. Many have a return flight booked from Istanbul to Moscow on October 19. 89/
https://regnum.ru/news/polit/3026187.html
https://regnum.ru/news/polit/3026187.html
More of those electronic tickets for the Russian private military contractors. They were scheduled to take Turkish Airlines flight 284 from Minsk to Istanbul on July 25. The tickets were booked on July 15. This is in line with the official Russian government explanation. 90/
Russia says that the group missed their flight from Minsk and then moved from a hotel to a sanatorium while waiting for a different flight to Istanbul. These tickets support that claim. 23 of the 33 had return flights, which might indicate that 10 were going somewhere else. 91/
Regnum posted two PDF files with all of the electronic tickets for the 33 Russian private military contractors. 92/
https://regnum.ru/uploads/docs/2020/08/02/regnum_file_15963559312166290.pdf
https://regnum.ru/uploads/docs/2020/08/02/regnum_file_15963558406067410.pdf
https://regnum.ru/uploads/docs/2020/08/02/regnum_file_15963559312166290.pdf
https://regnum.ru/uploads/docs/2020/08/02/regnum_file_15963558406067410.pdf
Video of the Belarusian KGB Alfa team at the 2018 Spetsnaz Triathlon in Russia. The same unit arrested the Russian private military contractors. War Gonzo claims this was the last time they participated in a competition in Russia. 93/
https://t.me/wargonzo/3154
https://t.me/wargonzo/3154
Though teams from Russia's Russian USN CBP FSO presidential spetsnaz and the FSB Special Purpose Center did take part in a competition in Minsk last year in honor of the KGB Alfa unit. 94/ https://twitter.com/RALee85/status/1178409047114108934
Personally, I don't think this is a point of no return — though extraditing them to Ukraine probably would be — but it is interesting nonetheless. 95/
95/ https://twitter.com/francska1/status/1290171154951356416
95/ https://twitter.com/francska1/status/1290171154951356416
Regarding the Russian PMC contractors, Lukashenko said, "Today, information came through about another unit of foreigners that was deployed to the south [of Belarus]. We should run around to catch them in the woods. And we will catch them all" 97/ https://tass.com/world/1185563
Regarding the detained Russians, “This is a very dangerous and strong signal. And these are all lies—about Istanbul, about Venezuela, about Africa and Libya—these are all lies.” 98/
https://t.me/new_militarycolumnist/39494
https://t.me/new_militarycolumnist/39494
“These people have testified that they were sent specifically to Belarus. They were told to wait. The tickets to Istanbul are part of the legend because when they were crossing the the Russian border, they had to demonstrate that they were flying to Istanbul.” 99/
Lukashenko said the Russian contractors could have flown through Novorossiysk or Crimea. “Why through Belarus?” “Don’t listen to these lies.” He said Belarus had treated the contractors humanely and as a result they told them everything. 100/
Bottom line is that Lukashenko did not signal that he was backing down over the issue of the Russian private military contractors, and he said that all of the arguments and exculpatory evidence are false or part of the contractors' "legend". 101/
Lukashenko said he spoke with Ukrainian President Zelensky yesterday about the 33 detained Russians and said Belarus should invite the Prosecutor Generals of Ukraine and Russia to decide their fate. "If they don't come, we will decide the issue, without them" 104/
Although he said the 33 Russians broke Belarusian laws, Lukashenko said they would act on the basis of "humanity" and "human factors." He also told Russia not to scare them about NATO, stating that neither the US nor NATO sent the group. 105/
https://www.belta.by/president/view/lukashenko-poruchil-priglasit-genprokurorov-rossii-i-ukrainy-dlja-razbiratelstva-s-zaderzhannymi-401611-2020/
https://www.belta.by/president/view/lukashenko-poruchil-priglasit-genprokurorov-rossii-i-ukrainy-dlja-razbiratelstva-s-zaderzhannymi-401611-2020/
“we do not know what they are capable of. We do not even know who they are: Americans with NATO, or someone from Ukraine or our eastern brothers...A hybrid war is going on against Belarus and we should expect dirty tricks from any side” 106/
https://eng.belta.by/president/view/lukashenko-dirty-tricks-might-come-from-any-side-amidst-hybrid-war-against-belarus-132303-2020/
https://eng.belta.by/president/view/lukashenko-dirty-tricks-might-come-from-any-side-amidst-hybrid-war-against-belarus-132303-2020/
We're now at the "leader publicly weighs the merits of different destinations he might flee to" stage of the election campaign in Belarus. 107/ https://twitter.com/dimsmirnov175/status/1291409394991857666
According to Alexander Kots's sources in the Russian security services, the Russian PMC contractors in Belarus were set up by the Ukrainian security services (a provocation). He says their entire project was fake. 108/ https://www.kp.ru/daily/217165/4266019/
Kots says that the Ukrainian security services convinced Artyom Milyaev, one of the arrested Russians, that they were working for Rosneft to find 180 PMC contractors who would protect oil facilities in Syria. Milyaev used the Mar PMC logo for some reason while recruiting. 109/
Milyaev was later told that his contact at Rosneft had died in Libya and his new contact suggested the group could go to Venezuela instead. The 180 were broken up into five groups, four of whom would arrive in Minsk on July 24, 26, Aug 4 and Aug 6, the 5th would go by sea. 110/
The 1st group consisted mostly of Ukrainians who had fought in the Donbass. According to Kots, their plane tickets were booked by a company based in Ukraine, Must Go, (the Russian Gov said is was through a Belarusian company). The tickets were canceled the day of the flight. 111/
Kots concludes that Ukraine did this to hurt Russian-Belarusian relations as well as the opportunity to extradite former Donbass fighters. 112/
There are reasons to be suspicious of this story, but the notion that you could raise a force of 200 Russian PMC contractors with none of them knowing whom they were working for doesn't speak highly of these guys. And that possibly Russia should have some PMC regulations. 113/
Presidents Lukashenko and Putin had a phone call today where they discussed the 33 detained Russians. 114/
http://president.gov.by/ru/news_ru/view/telefonnyj-razgovor-s-prezidentom-rossii-vladimirom-putinym-24202/
http://president.gov.by/ru/news_ru/view/telefonnyj-razgovor-s-prezidentom-rossii-vladimirom-putinym-24202/
It is interesting that this version is being spread so much. Yes, it blames Kyiv but it also contradicts the Russian gov's statements of the events, it begs the question why PMCs aren't being regulated, and portrays these Russians as very gullible. 115/ https://twitter.com/francska1/status/1291674827024105472
Not sure this is a selling point for foreign countries who want to hire Wagner in the future, and it portrays the Russian state as being weak (not to mention a huge failure for the Russian security services to allow this to happen). 116/
And even if this series of events was true, it was immediately obvious once Belarus arrested these PMC contractors that they weren't in Belarus to do anything and were just waiting to leave the country. So Lukashenko has decided to make this a public spectacle either way. 117/
Lukashenko did say yesterday during his interview with Dmitry Gordon that "Ukraine's intelligence warned us that another group entered the country through the southern border. We are now looking for them all over Belarus." 118/ https://www.belta.by/president/view/lukashenko-o-zaderzhannyh-boevikah-chvk-my-videli-s-kem-oni-svjazany-otkuda-poluchali-komandy-401730-2020/
"To be honest, I do not really believe that 30 people crossed the border there, because in this case we would have found them unless they left for Russia or went back to Ukraine. We would have found them in our territory long ago” which is being used to support Kots' story. 119/
The RSOTM PMC-linked account is making fun of the War Gonzo telegram channel and its report with “Russian and Belarusian security services sources” that China set this all up. 120/
https://t.me/grey_zone/4078
https://t.me/grey_zone/4078
As @Mortis_Banned noted, these are Chinese Dongfeng EQ2058 Mengshi, the first of which were delivered to Belarus in 2012 for service with Belarusian SSO/SOF. 123/ https://twitter.com/franakviacorka/status/1292352399710003200
Notably, Lukashenko visited the 5th Independent Special Operations Brigade on July 24 where he told them "State Secretary Andrei Ravkov was right when he said that all modern wars begin with street protests, rallies and Maidan-type revolutions." 124/
http://president.gov.by/en/news_en/view/working-trip-to-pukhovichi-district-24106/
http://president.gov.by/en/news_en/view/working-trip-to-pukhovichi-district-24106/
"If there are not enough people here to take part in such revolutions, they will bring them from abroad. They are professional military, specially trained gangsters, mostly as part of private military companies all over the world and they make big money from staging provocations"
He said the risks of a large-scale war are minimal, “The probability is low. The things we’ve studied – conflicts, local wars that have happened across the globe, events preceding them, the undercurrents preceding these conflicts and wars – have a higher probability." 126/
"we can confidently say that a war will not break out just like that. A war begins in advance. First of all, it starts with domestic armed conflicts, color revolutions, which may be inspired by outside forces...this is why we should be constantly ready for it.” 127/
"If someone tells you that Lukashenko came to force the military to put things right in streets…Although due to its specialization this unit can very well be deployed to restore order by law if some riots happen somewhere, god forbid...Our readiness to always defend our country"
Lukashenko said that the US had to use the Army in some states, “First, no one in the world expected the ongoing developments in the USA. Second, this is a serious catastrophe for the entire world. If the U.S. President withstands this pressure, it will be a good sign for us,"
Regarding the contractors, Lukashenko said, "if someone hopes that our relations with Russia are absolutely strained, they are mistaken! The Russian president and I will make a decision, and no media outlets and no Wagner contractors will affect it.” 130/ https://eng.belta.by/president/view/lukashenko-belarus-russia-relations-will-remain-good-132387-2020/
Lukashenko said Belarus has received a letter from Russia regarding the facts of the case, which the Belarusian Investigative Committee is reviewing. 131/ https://tass.ru/mezhdunarodnaya-panorama/9155123
