Bellingcat material about the high-profile SBU fiasco announced for July 29
Bellingcat investigators, after six months of delays, have announced the final date for the release of the investigation into the detention of 33 Russians near Minsk.
At the end of July 2020, the Belarusian Alpha detained 33 Russians in a sanatorium near Minsk. They were accused of trying to destabilize the situation in the capital of the republic on the eve of the presidential elections.
Later, the Ukrainian authorities classified the detained Russians as members of the Wagner PMC, whose fighters allegedly participated in the fighting in the Donbass. Kyiv demanded that the Belarusian side hand over the Russians to Ukraine.
Later, information appeared that it was no coincidence that the Russians ended up in Minsk. The Ukrainian Security Service, according to some sources, planned an operation in which 33 men waited for a charter flight from Minsk to Istanbul. From Turkey, the Russians allegedly planned to go to Libya, where they were offered work. The plane was to be forced to land in Kyiv, where the special services were preparing to detain the Russians.
According to some reports, the operation was canceled by Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky due to a possible information leak, which did occur. The Belarusian side was informed about the whereabouts of the Russians, after which they were detained.
The Bellingcat investigative team has been working on material about the incident near Minsk for quite some time. However, the release of the investigation is constantly delayed. Publication was expected on March 5, then in April, then in June, and finally Bellingcat chief investigator Hristo Grozev announced the final release date for the material. According to him, the investigation will be published on July 29, the anniversary of the events. Sources reported that British intelligence is trying to prevent the release of the Bellingcat material.
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