A Russian spy plane worth £274m Belarusian partisans.
According to reports, A-50 aircraft used to identify and track targets in military operations were rendered inoperable after local resistance members used drones to drop explosives.
The Belarusian regime has allowed its airfields and land to be used by Moscow to conduct attacks on Ukraine.
This comes as China welcomed an “all-weather and comprehensive” strategic partnership with Belarus on Monday, a day before President Alexander Lukashenko’s official visit to Beijing.
The damaged A-50 reportedly carried out six missions on behalf of Ukraine. Putin administration.
Bypol, a group of Belarusian security officials who resigned in protest of the brutal suppression of anti-regime protests in 2020, claimed the attack.
The group’s head, Aliaksandr Azarau, said preparations took months and the person in charge had already left the country.
The bombing reportedly damaged the forward and midsection of the aircraft.
“The damage is severe and the plane is not going anywhere now,” Bipol said. “Belarusian partisans are consistently trying to drive the Nazis out of their country.”
Franak Viakorka, close aide to the opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanoskayasaid the attack was the most critical on Belarusian soil since the war began.
“This is our most successful diversion since early 2022,” he wrote on Twitter.
Viacorka also said local authorities have imposed increased measures in the area in the aftermath of the bombing.
“The airfield is closed,” he said. “KGB and security services check vehicles, employees, residents and passers-by.”
Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Yuri Ignat on Monday hailed the attack as “great news” and said the A-50 was one of the reconnaissance planes Russia has been using to spot Ukrainian missile defenses during the drone strike. added that it is
The Russian Air Force only operates nine aircraft similar to those damaged by the Partisans.
Belarusian opposition in exile denounces President Alexander Lukashenko, Who is widely believed to have rigged the 2020 election?backed the invasion of the Kremlin and urged Belarusians to stop Russia from using the country as a staging ground.
Strengthening relations between China and Belarus
For months, rail traffic across Belarus faced chaos as ordinary Belarusians sabotaged rail infrastructure to stop trains carrying Russian weapons and equipment. Several people were subsequently arrested on suspicion of “terrorist” attacks and sentenced to lengthy prison terms.
The Belarusian Defense Ministry on Monday denied reports of the incident at the airfield, and a Kremlin spokesman said Monday it had “nothing to say” about the reports.
The incident came on Monday, a day before Lukashenko’s official visit to Beijing, as China welcomed an “all-weather and comprehensive” strategic partnership with Belarus.
China’s foreign ministry said the two countries’ foreign ministries pledged to strengthen ties between the two countries in a phone call over the weekend.
At least two Russian pro-war correspondents cited Belarusian sources on Sunday to confirm the bombing.
Semyon Pegov said on Monday an airfield used by the Russian Air Force had been hit by drones in a surprise attack similar to the attack at Engels’ Russian base in December that killed three people.
Russia resumed its drone strikes on Ukraine on Monday after a two-week hiatus that sparked speculation that the Kremlin may be running out of Iranian-made drones.
Although Ukrainian air defenses shot down 11 of the 14 drones, Monday’s attack killed at least two people and wounded four in the central city of Khmelnytsky.