Belarus announced the detention of “Russian militants.” They expect a state of emergency and cancellation of elections

Law enforcement officers of Belarus detained 32 soldiers of the Russian PMC "Wagner" tonight near Minsk. In addition, another person was found and detained in the south of the country.

This was reported by the state news agency BelTA, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.

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Belarusian law enforcement agencies received information about the arrival of more than 200 militants in the country to destabilize the situation during the election campaign.

“The Russians each had small hand luggage with them, and they all had three large heavy suitcases, which were loaded into the vehicle by several men. Upon arrival in the capital on the night of July 24-25, the group checked into one of the hotels in Minsk and was supposed to check out on July 25, but left the hotel on July 27 and moved to one of the sanatoriums in the Minsk region,” the report says.

According to the administration of the sanatorium, visitors attracted attention to behavior uncharacteristic of Russian tourists and monotonous military-style clothing. They didn’t drink alcohol, didn’t visit entertainment venues, stayed apart, trying not to attract attention to themselves. In small groups they carefully examined the territory and surroundings of the sanatorium.
The agency provides a list of detained Russian citizens.

Political scientist Alexander Shpakovsky, close to the administration of the Belarusian president, promises developments in the situation.

“I just spoke with one of the heads of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. I confirm. And that is not all. In principle, it’s expected,” Shpakovsky wrote on his Facebook, advising journalists to wait for official comments.

Several anonymous telegram channels immediately wrote that it was planned to introduce a state of emergency in the country and cancel the presidential elections scheduled for August 9.

The chairman of the “Civil Harmony in Belarus” movement, Artem Agafonov, is skeptical about these rumors, but will not be surprised by the introduction of a state of emergency.

“In Belarus, such information leaks about militants, caches of weapons and impending provocations and riots are not the first time. They are usually done before presidential elections or major protests. In my memory, there were several of them - from a curious dead rat, which, according to the Belarusian special services, saboteurs were supposed to poison the Minsk water supply system in 2006, to a mysterious jeep with weapons that allegedly broke through the Ukrainian border a couple of years ago, but never appeared anywhere else. None of these stuffing even reached the court.

I doubt that today's case is not one of these. The only difference may be that, due to the changed foreign policy situation, the militants can be called Russian. The purpose of such leaks is also clear - to mobilize supporters before unpopular actions and justify “tightening the screws.” Now in telegram channels there is a version being discussed that this may be informational preparation for the introduction of a state of emergency in Belarus. Considering that our election campaign this time turned out to be especially dirty, and all the “red lines” were crossed, I would not be surprised at this either,” Agafonov told PolitNavigator.

Let us remind you that now Lukashenko’s main competitor in the upcoming elections, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, is gathering crowded rallies in Belarusian cities during the election campaign. American journalist Franak Vecherka published on Facebook the results of a survey conducted by Russians, according to which the current president now has 35% of the votes, and Tikhanovskaya has 23,5%. Moreover, in the second round their chances are almost equal.

Alexander Lukashenko visited both Belarusian special forces brigades, spoke to the military and stated that they would be involved in dispersing the protests. The president also mentioned PMC fighters who may appear in Belarus.