Contents tagged with Belarus

  • Belarusian KGB: Arrested Ukrainian journalist admits to being intelligence officer

    The Belarusian State Security Committee (KGB) said that the arrested Ukrainian journalist Pavlo Sharoyko has confessed to being a Ukrainian intelligence officer and working in the country under cover. This was announced by the KGB’s official spokesperson Dmitry Pobyarzhin.

    The Belarusian KGB claims that Sharoyko created an agent network with a number of Belarusian citizens, whom he paid to collect military and political intelligence information.

    “In light of his work experience as the head of …

  • Belarus declares its readiness to provide a peacekeeping contingent to the Donbas

    Belarus is ready to provide peacekeeping contingent to the Donbas, if it receives consent from all interested parties, as announced at a joint news conference with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Belarusian Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei.

    "We are ready to allocate an appropriate peacekeeping contingent, if it is acceptable to all interested parties, in order to participate in solving peacekeeping tasks," said Makei.

    He also noted that in October 2014, Belarusian President …

  • IMF refuses loan to Belarus

    The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has advised Belarus to abolish the so-called "tax on parasitism".

    Based on the outcomes of the Fund's mission in Minsk, the IMF also proposed that the Belarusian authorities abolish the target for the monthly salary, which should be reached by the end of 2017. Instead, the IMF recommends for Belarus "to allow enterprises to adjust their salaries based on labor productivity."

    The head of the IMF mission, Peter Dolman, also reported on the suspension of …

  • Putin signs decree on unified air defense system with Belarus

    Russian President Vladimir Putin has ratified the protocol to the agreement on joint protection of the airspace of the external border of the Union State and the creation of a unified regional air defense system of the Russian Federation and Belarus.

    The agreement itself appeared on February 2, 2009 and the protocol was signed in Minsk on November 2, 2016. The State Duma adopted the corresponding bill on October 20, 2017 while the Russian Federation Council approved it on October 25.

    " …

  • Media: NATO prepares report accusing Russia of lying about Zapad-2017 military exercise

    NATO experts analyzed satellite images of the Zapad 2017 exercises and found tens of thousands of soldiers, while Russia assured that fewer than 13,000 military men participated in the maneuvers, as reported by Die Welt, citing sources in NATO.

    Exercises with military formations exceeding 13,000 people require the participation of observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), however, they were not present at the maneuvers.

    According to Die Welt, NATO is going …

  • Ministry of Defense of Ukraine: Six thousand Russian troops still in Belarus after Zapad 2017 Exercises

    About six thousand Russian soldiers who took part in joint military maneuvers of the Zapad 2017 exercises are still in Belarus, stated Andrei Lysenko, press secretary of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine on ATO issues, according to news agency UNN.

    “A combination of Russian and Belarusian forces, totaling about 12,000 troops, was in Belarus. Of these, 5,800 were from Russia. The military understands that the headquarters and other units remain in the territory of Belarus, and international …

  • Polish Ministry of Defense: Ukraine’s information about Russian troops staying in Belarus after Zapad-2017 exercises should be taken seriously

    During a broadcast of Polish TV on Saturday, Polish Defense Minister, Antoni Macierewicz, stated that the Ukrainians are very well informed about the joint Russian-Belarusian exercises Zapad 2017, and suggested that   Ukraine’s information about that Russian troops staying in Belarus after these exercise should be taken seriously.

    "We are carefully studying the information from Ukraine. Ukraine is very well-versed in the affairs of Russians. I would treat their information very seriously," …

  • Russia sends Special Forces to Minsk for joint exercises with Belarus

    On Monday, September 25, a unit of Russian Special Forces arrived in Minsk, the capital city of Belarus, as   reported by the press service of the Ministry of Defense of Russia.

    "Today, a unit of separate, special-purpose Russian Airborne Troops arrived in Minsk to take part in a joint, bilateral, tactical, special exercise," the report says.

    According to the Defense Ministry, preparations for the training will be carried out from September 25 to October 8.

    "During the exercise, which will …

  • Estonian Ministry of Defense: Russia is ready for military intervention in Belarus

    Russia is ready for military intervention in Belarus, just as it did in Ukraine, if the political situation changes in an undesirable direction for the Kremlin, stated the head of the Estonian Defense Forces, Lieutenant General Riho Terras in an interview with ERR.

    "Like Ukraine, Russia is planning military steps against Belarus if the political situation changes there. Russian military and security structures are preparing to intervene and conduct a military operation in Belarus if necessary. …

  • Helicopter accidentally fires missile at reporters during Russian-Belarusian Zapad 2017 drills

    A video from the cabin of the Ka-52 helicopter, which accidentally shot at spectators at the Zapad 2017 exercises in the Leningrad province, has appeared online, published by the Mash telegram channel.

    The video shows the helicopter firing unguided C-8 missiles at an area with vehicles. According to 66.ru news website, there were journalists among those injured as a result.

    Bloggers from the Conflict Intelligence Team (CIT) have analyzed the video clip showing the effects of the helicopter …