Disclaimer: A number of claims and counterclaims are being made on the Ukraine-Russia conflict on the ground and online. While WION takes utmost care to accurately report this developing news story, we cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, photos and videos.
A supposed drone attack damaged a Russian A-50 surveillance military aircraft at an airfield near the Belarus capital of Minsk on Sunday. The attack was reportedly carried out by Belarus partisans and members of the exiled opposition.
“Those were drones. The participants of the operation are Belarusian,” Aliaksandr Azarov, leader of Belarusian anti-government organisation BYPOL, was quoted as saying on the organisation’s Telegram messaging app. The message was also broadcast by the Poland-based Belsat news channel, a broadcaster branded extremist by Minsk.
“They are now safe, outside the country.”
Franak Viacorka, an adviser to Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, described the attack on the Russian A-50 aircraft in a Twitter post as the most successful act of sabotage since the beginning of 2022.
Belsat includes former law enforcement officers who support opposition politicians and has been branded a terrorist organisation.
However, the attack hasn’t been independently verified. But if it is true, it would mean a significant loss for the Russian Air Force.
The aircraft, which is a variant of the Il-76 quad-jet cargo transport, was reportedly attacked through a drone. It has sustained considerable damage, reports say. Claims are swirling that a partisan group inside Belarus carried out the attack.
Front and central parts of the aircraft as well as the radar antenna were damaged following two explosions in the attack at the Machulishchy air base near Minsk, BYPOL reported. The Beriev A-50 aircraft, which goes by the NATO reporting name of Mainstay, is a Russian airborne early warning aircraft. It has airborne command and control capabilities and the ability to track up to 60 targets at a time.
While Belarus hasn’t directly participated in the Russia-Ukraine war, it had allowed Moscow to use its territory as a staging post. The two countries have also set up a joint military unit in Belarus and held numerous exercises. A number of Russian warplanes and airborne early warning and control aircraft have been deployed to Belarus.
(With inputs from agencies)
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