BELARUS
Friends and Foes
Belarusian authorities arrested 33 suspected Russian mercenaries for plotting “terrorism” ahead of the country’s presidential elections next month, the BBC reported.
Officials said that at least 200 Russian mercenaries are believed to have entered the country and are part of the Wagner paramilitary group. They added that 14 of the detained had fought in the Ukraine conflict.
The Belarus Investigative Committee is now investigating possible links between the Russian suspects and the jailed popular opposition blogger Sergei Tikhanovsky – whose wife is opposition presidential candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya.
Russia, meanwhile, has denied any involvement in the plot or any affiliation with the Wagner group. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Russia has maintained close ties with Belarus and they have held joint military exercises. Even so, the relationship has soured over the past few years.
Meanwhile, the Wagner group has been involved in global conflicts, including in Syria, Ukraine and Sudan – and is suspected of being involved in Libya.
The upcoming elections come amid protests against Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko, who has run the country since 1994, and has banned opposition members from taking part in the vote. Lukashenko is seeking a sixth term and has exerted authoritarian control over the country. He is known as “Europe’s last dictator.”
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