State media 'uncovers' mysterious foreign militants in Belarus

Militants from the Counter-Strike 1.6 computer game
Militants from the Counter-Strike 1.6 computer game

Belarusian state and pro-state media frequently publish statements about militants who are in a hurry to destabilize the situation on the island of stability in the center of Europe. Militants from PMC Wagner, militants from Ukraine, militants from Poland, militants from Lithuania ...

Euroradio decided to calculate how many militants from different countries are reaching out to our crystal vessel, if you believe the officials and propagandists.

"Up to 200 Wagner militants" said Raukou 

The interference of militants in the internal affairs of Belarus "happened" at the height of Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya's campaign, when her united headquarters gathered thousands of rallies throughout Belarus. On July 29 BelTA reported that 32 "fighters of a foreign private military company" were detained near Minsk. Another person was detained in the south of the country.

От 200 до 5000: сколько иностранных боевиков прячется в лесах Беларуси
Andrei Raukou / Euroradio

The next day, State Secretary of the Security Council Andrei Raukou said that “somewhere on the territory of Belarus” there are still up to 200 militants. “Search is underway. It's like a finding needle in a haystack," he said.

On August 14 it was reported that Belarus handed over 32 Wagnerians to Russia. Are the rest so well hidden that they cannot be found?

“Another squad” claimed Lukashenka

On August 4, addrressing the people and parliament, Alyaksandr Lukashenka was eager to frighten peaceful Belarusians. “Today we received information about another detachment [of militants] that has been deployed to the south,” he climed.

The head of Belarus did not mention either the size of the group or where they came from. “Now we have to run around and seek them in the woods. We will catch them all,” Lukashenka added.

They are still being sought out.

“About 200 Ukrainian extremists”  said Lavrov

September 2 saw negotiations between the head of the Belarusian Foreign Ministry Uladzimir Makei and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov. Then the Russian Foreign Minister said that foreign extremists roam the territory of Belarus. This time they came from the southern border:

“According to our estimates, about two hundred extremists trained in the Volyn territory are now in the Republic of Belarus,” Lavrov said.

От 200 до 5000: сколько иностранных боевиков прячется в лесах Беларуси
Sergey Lavrov and Uladzimir Makei / BelTA

He also added that Ukraine finances mass protests in Belarus. Uladzimir Makei did not refute this information.

Needless to say, the “Ukrainian extremists” proved to be no less agile and invisible than the Russian militants?

"Polish militants "with experience in Ukraine" claimed Polish political scientist

On September 13, Mateusz Piskorski appears on the STV channel. He was introduced as a Polish politician and political scientist. In the program “Nedelya” he, as an expert, spoke about “the external origin of the protests in Belarus”.

“There were certain cases of militants sent to Minsk -- those who had a certain experience, Polish citizens who had a certain experience (including in the east of Ukraine in hostilities). By the way, they were associated with various neo-Nazi groups in Poland and Ukraine (for example, with the Ukrainian Azov battalion),” Piskorsky said in an expertly manner.

 

Mateusz Piskorski is an ambiguous personality. In May 2016, he was detained by the Polish Internal Security Agency on charges of collaborating with Russian intelligence in activities directed against the Republic of Poland, promoting Russian interests and manipulating the mood of Polish society. Piskorsky was released on bail only last year.

The STV hosts, of course, did not say anything about the background of their Polish expert.

"5,000 Bandera Nazis" says "Teleskop"

The most extreme in the calculations was the publicist of the pro-Russian Teleskop portal under the pseudonym Panteleimon Filippovich.

“Albeit with a delay and in a limited amount, but there is clear evidence of the “peaceful” battles of the militants (and about 5,000 trained Bandera Nazis alone have been deployed from Ukraine to Belarus) with the Belarusian OMON,” he wrote.

Who says 5,000 is a lot? No time for fooling around

The anonymous publicist, however, decided not to specify how 5,000 trained Bandera Nazis were sent into Belarus, and most importantly, where they are hiding now.

"Polish and Baltic detachments of fighters" detected by Russian specialist in "Maidan technologies"

Another speaker from Belarusian TV who is "a Russian political scientist, publicist and political consultant Dmitry Kulikov" spoke on the Belarus 1 TV channel about fighters from Poland and the Baltic states, who were honing their combat skills in southeastern Ukraine:

От 200 до 5000: сколько иностранных боевиков прячется в лесах Беларуси

“I would like to remind you that Polish units of fighters trained in Donbass, in great detail. And the Baltic ones too. The script should be the same as in Ukraine. Well, there are some minor peculiarities, becauset a blitzkrieg strategy was needed".

Kulikov did not specify where these detachments are and how many fighters are there.

Sixty-four "PARTIZANS of Mahiliou" counted Ministry of Internal Affairs

On September 14, the Ministry of Internal Affairs announced the arrest of six members of a detachment that was training in a forest in the vicinity of Mahiliou.

От 200 до 5000: сколько иностранных боевиков прячется в лесах Беларуси

”Anti-corruption unit of the Ministry of Internal Affairs has suppressed illegal activities of the "forest group". The leader of this group created a community in social networks called "Mahiliou Partisans". It included 64 users.

It was preliminarily established that the members of the group gathered in an abandoned room in the forest near Mahiliou. There they trained, practicing practical skills in street fighting tactics, occupation of premises, assault mountaineering and fighting in the forest," wrote the press secretary of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Volha Chamadanava in her telegram channel.

It turns out that 58 out of 64 community users remain at large. True, there are certain doubts about their fighting qualities. From the investigation by Euroradio it can be concluded that “PARTIZANS of Mahiliou” are fans of airsoft, military and youth subculture “715”.

Thus, according to all sources, somewhere in Belarus, at least 5,458 (5,000 + 200 + 200 + 58) militants are engaged in their sabotage affairs.

Be careful.