Interior Ministry: law enforcement officers investigate connections of Belarusian extremists, terrorists and mercenaries

The connections of Belarusian mercenaries fighting as part of illegal armed formations on the territory of Ukraine have been recorded and are being attentively investigated to detect plans for subversive activities inside the country and assistance to foreign radical initiatives – as informed by the Head of the Main Directorate for Combating Organised Crime and Corruption (GUBOPiK) at Belarus’ Interior Ministry, Andrei Ananenko

Photo: Interior Ministry’s video screenshot

According to Mr. Ananenko, members of extremist and terrorist organisations abroad – such as the Kalinovsky regiment and other armed formations – are hatching plans to destabilise the situation in Belarus, and GUBOPiK employees are aware of this. "Mercenaries and persons who have undergone training at the Western camps can be involved,” the official added.

Mr. Ananenko stressed that militants still have connections (these are relatives and acquaintances in some cases) in Belarus, and these persons form hidden cells promoting criminal activity and recruiting citizens to participate in armed actions on the territory of Ukraine.

"Based on available data, there have been about 200 participants in the Kalinovsky regiment until recently. We know about more than twenty persons killed during the special military operation, while the number of wounded and missing reaches dozens. There are also captives and deserters," Mr. Ananenko noted.

Since early 2022, eleven people have been brought to criminal responsibility for attempting to leave Belarus to join paramilitary formations as mercenaries.

All departments of the internal affairs bodies continue their work in this direction.