The Belarus announced Wednesday the arrest of 32 “fighters” Russian military group private Wagner, considered close to the Kremlin.
The 32-Russian military group and private held close to the Kremlin arrested in Belarus are suspected of having prepared “acts of terrorism” to the approach of the presidential election, announced on Thursday the belarusian authorities. “The arrested persons are suspected of preparation of acts of terrorism on the territory of Belarus,” said to the press, the State secretary of the national security Council, Andrei Ravkov, confirming that some 170 other potential suspects were still sought.
Historically allies, Russia and Belarus relations are still more strained since the end of 2019, the president Alexander Lukashenko accusing in particular Moscow of wanting to reduce his country to the status of vassal and of interfering in the election on 9 August.
“Thirty-two people – Russian citizens (…) have been arrested this morning in a hotel near Minsk”, announced the secretary of the security Council of belarus, Andrei Ravkov, quoted by the state tv channel ONT. According to him, they are all “parties of military group, private Wagner”. A 33rd man has been arrested in the Gomel region (the south), he added.
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Destabilization in the midst of elections
The first tv channel of belarus and the official agency news Belta the other hand, have announced that the arrests had been ordered after the authorities had learned “the arrival on the territory (belarus) 200 combatants to destabilize the situation in the period of election campaign”.
The operation, carried out by the security services (the KGB), intervenes in the homestretch of an election campaign marked by a mobilization unusual in favour of the opposition. She has been the target of a repression which has hit both the demonstrators and competitors policies of Alexander Lukashenko. The latter, who ruled with a iron hand the republic of Belarus since 1994 and who is a candidate for a sixth term in office, accuses the Kremlin of supporting its opponents.
“If they are Russian citizens – and if I understand correctly, this is the case, as they have been surveyed, it is then necessary to address immediately to the bodies competent Russian to explain what is going on”, said Alexander Lukashenko, quoted by the state tv channel belarus STV, at a meeting of the security Council of his country.
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soon after, the Russian embassy in Minsk, said on Twitter that he was “officially informed of the arrest of 32 Russian citizens”, without further details.
The group Wagner, founded by a relative of Vladimir Putin, has the reputation of being used by Russia for intervention abroad which she doesn’t want to be officially associated with it. Appeared in the east of Ukraine, where a war continues for 2014, these mercenaries have also been deployed in Libya and Syria. Moscow denies having any link with them.
The ambassadors of Russia and Ukraine in Belarus will be summoned for clarification, according to Andrei Ravkov. The tv public belarus has released images taken by cameras of video-monitoring of the arrival bulk of the suspects to the hotel, and then for their arrest. There were wads of dollars, Russian passports, as well as instruction manuals for military equipment.
Litigation in the field of energy
relations between Russia and Belarus have traditionally been cordial but marked by episodes of regular tensions, particularly related to litigation matters in the energy field. Alexander Lukashenko and Vladimir Putin have met several times over the past few months to try to resolve their disputes. They are seen two times at the end of June.
“It seems that with these elections, Lukashenko leads the battle of his life”, said to AFP Timothy Ash, an analyst at BlueBay Asset Management, taking the view that this incident could give the president of belarus as a pretext to cancel the elections that he is not sure of winning.
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All the presidential candidates were invited this Thursday morning at the central electoral Commission of belarus, said Wednesday on Facebook among them, Sergei Tcheretchen. Since the arrival of Alexander Lukashenko to power, no opposition was able to emerge and many of its leaders were imprisoned.
The election campaign has been galvanized by the arrival of new faces. Alexander Lukashenko in particular to Svetlana Tikhanovskaïa who was replaced at short notice of her husband, a video-blogger, Sergei Tikhanovski, imprisoned in may, at the time where it gained popularity.
on Wednesday evening, the channel HAVE announced the arrest in Belarus of a counselor politique Vitali Chkliarov, which would have helped Tikhanovski to “mobilize him around the electorate objecting” to be unhappy with Lukashenko.
