Day 369: Belarus Group Claims Responsibility for Attack on Russian Surveillance Aircraft
A Belarusian anti-goverment group known as BYPOL — which was last year labeled a terror organization by the country's prosecutor general — has claimed responsibility for an attack on a Russian surveillance aircraft at an airfield near Minsk on Sunday....
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Facts
- A Belarusian anti-goverment group known as BYPOL — which was last year labeled a terror organization by the country's prosecutor general — has claimed responsibility for an attack on a Russian surveillance aircraft at an airfield near Minsk on Sunday.1
- BYPOL said the attack on the Beriev A-50 aircraft had been carried out with drones and by Belarusians who are now out of the country. However, there has been no official confirmation that the attack took place from either Belarus or Russia and neither nation's defense ministry has so far responded to requests for comment.1
- Meanwhile, Ukrainian officials said they are investigating the death of a Ukrainian soldier near the border with Belarus over the weekend. Unconfirmed reports suggested he was shot from the Belarusian side of the border, a claim denied by Minsk officials.2
- Last week, Belarus accused Ukraine of building up a large number of troops near the border. However, Ukraine also made the same claim, alleging that approximately 10K Russian soldiers were in the vicinity.3
- In other attacks, two civilians were reported killed and three others were injured in the western Ukraine region of Khmelnytskyi, after Russia deployed kamikaze drones over the country late on Sunday. Meanwhile, two civilians were injured in Russian attacks on Donetsk over the past day. Attacks were also recorded in the regions of Sumy, Chernihiv, and Dnipropetrovsk, as well as Kherson, Kharkiv, and Zaporizhzhia, with no reports of civilian casualties at this stage.4
- Elsewhere, in an interview with CBS that aired on Sunday, CIA director William Burns said he judged Russian Pres. Vladimir Putin as 'quite determined' to continue waging the war in Ukraine, despite the damage it is doing to his country. 'I think Putin is, right now, entirely too confident of his ability ... to wear down Ukraine,' he said. He also commented on US assessments that China may be gearing up to provide Russia with military aid, describing it as: 'A very risky and unwise bet.'5
Sources: 1Us news , 2Ukrayinska pravda (a), 3Finance, 4Ukrayinska pravda (b) and 5Associated Press.
Narratives
- Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by Atlantic. Making sure Ukraine continues to be well armed is the only way to fend off Putin and Russia in this unprovoked war of aggression. The US and NATO must not simply offer up their latest and most hi-tech weapons however; combat is about supply lines and the West must ensure basic equipment and ammunition are kept flowing as needed.
- Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by AntiWar. Multi-billion dollar weapons packages will make little difference in the outcome of the war. The US has been meddling in Ukraine since the end of the Cold War, and what we're witnessing is a geopolitical ponzi scheme to benefit those aligned with the military-industrial complex. War is a lucrative racket.
