MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 27th August, 2020) The incident involving the detention of Russian citizens in Belarus is a joint operation of the Ukrainian and US intelligence services, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday, adding that this information had been verified.
In late July, Minsk announced that 33 Russians, allegedly employees of private military company Wagner Group, had been detained on suspicion of plotting mass riots in Belarus in the run-up to the presidential election.
"Now it is obvious that this was an operation by intelligence agencies. These people, whom you have mentioned, were moved to the territory of Belarus, to ... leave for third countries, such as Latin America, the middle East, for absolutely legal work. In reality, they were dragged into the territory of Belarus and presented as a possible striking force to rock the situation during the election campaign," Putin said in an interview with Russia's Rossiya 1 television channel.
The Russians, as Putin noted, "were simply lured there, dragged across the border."
"Our border guards did not let them out, by the way. They could not enter. But they were actually transported with forged documents. This is a joint operation of Ukrainian and US intelligence services. It is now known as a fact," the president noted.
