New video shows Russian soldiers refusing to obey their superiors' orders
01:16
What we covered here
President Volodymyr Zelensky, in an interview with CNN, defended his decision to keep Ukrainian forces in Bakhmut, warning that withdrawing from the eastern city would risk Russian capture of other areas.
A senior Ukrainian official denied Kyiv was involved in the Nord Stream pipeline leaks in late September 2022. He was responding to a New York Times report, which said new intelligence suggests that a “pro-Ukrainian group” carried out an attack.
It's after midnight in Kyiv. Here's what you need to know
Ukrainian forces continue to defend against Russian attacks in the battered city of Bakhmut, according to the military’s General Staff.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned Russian troops will have an “open road” to capture other key cities in eastern Ukraine if they seize control of Bakhmut. He defended his decision to keep Ukrainian forces in the besieged city and in his nightly address, announced the death of Dmytro Kotsiubaylo, a celebrated Ukrainian fighter who was killed in Bakhmut.
As of Tuesday, nearly 4,000 civilians remain inside Bakhmut, according to the country’s Vice Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk. She said Ukrainian workers were still working to evacuate the remainder of the population, but the current situation makes their jobs even more difficult.
If you’re just now catching up, here’s what you should know:
Russian attacks. While most attention is focused on the battle for Bakhmut, fierce battles continue a short distance to the north in the Luhansk region, according to Ukrainian officials. The Ukrainian military said Russian forces also continue to focus their offensive on Kupiansk, Lyman, Avdiivka and Shakhtarsk.
Prisoner swap. Ukraine and Russia have exchanged prisoners of war in another swap, announced by both sides on Tuesday. Moscow said it had been able to return 90 servicemen from territory controlled by Kyiv, whereas Ukraine said it had been able to bring back 130 of its soldiers from Russian captivity.
Nord Stream leaks. A senior Ukrainian official denied any involvement from the Ukrainian government in the Nord Stream pipeline leaks in late September 2022, which Western leaders have said were likely the result of sabotage. Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, was responding to a report from The New York Times, which said new intelligence suggests that a “pro-Ukrainian group” carried out an attack on the Russian-owned Nord Stream pipelines that left them badly damaged last year.
Ukrainian soldier execution. The Ukrainian army identified the soldier seen being executed in a video that began circulating online Monday as Tymofii Mykolayovych Shadura. US State Department spokesperson Ned Price said the department is aware of the “gruesome video” of the execution.
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"They don't respect anything." Zelensky says execution video shows Russia's attitude to POWs
From CNN's Jonny Hallam
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the disturbing video of an unarmed Ukrainian solider being executed in a forest shows Russia’s attitude toward prisoners of war.
The Russians “don’t have any laws of war or international law or any conventions,” Zelenksy told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer in an interview on Tuesday.
The video shows the difference between the two sides, the president said.
“For us, it’s war for our freedom, for democracy, for our values. For them it’s terrorism —that’s the attitude. And they post this video,” he said.
“They just killed a guy who refused to surrender, and he said ‘Glory to Ukraine’ — that’s what you got. This is the face of this war. This is the face of the Russian Federation,” Zelensky added.
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Celebrated Ukrainian fighter killed in Bakhmut, Zelensky says
From CNN’s Vasco Cotovio and Kostan Nechyporenko
Zelensky announced the death of "Da Vinci" in his nightly address on Tuesday.
(Office of the Ukrainian President)
A celebrated Ukrainian fighter, Dmytro Kotsiubaylo, whose call sign was “Da Vinci” was killed in Bakhmut, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced in his nightly address on Tuesday.
“Today, Dmytro Kotsiubaylo, ‘Da Vinci,’ Hero of Ukraine, volunteer, man-symbol, man of courage, was killed in action. A fighter of the 67th separate mechanized brigade, a commander of a battalion. He was killed in the battle near Bakhmut, in the battle for Ukraine,” Zelensky said.
Kotsiubaylo was a well-known soldier in Ukraine, having risen up and taken arms against Russian influence since 2014 when he was just a teenager.
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US State Department aware of "gruesome video" of execution of unarmed Ukrainian soldier
From CNN's Jennifer Hansler
The US State Department is aware of the “gruesome video” of the execution of an unarmed Ukrainian soldier, allegedly in Russian captivity, spokesperson Ned Price said Tuesday.
“The harrowing imagery of this unarmed Ukrainian being executed after making the simple statement of ‘Glory to Ukraine’ is just breathtaking in terms of its barbarity,” Price said during a State Department briefing.
Price added that it wasn’t the first evidence of Russian atrocities in Ukraine. “Unfortunately, it probably will not be the last tally that our Ukrainian partners are maintaining of potential war crimes atrocities now has tens of thousands of instances on it,” he said.
Some background: The Ukrainian Army’s 30th Mechanized Brigade named the soldier on Tuesday as Tymofii Mykolayovych Shadura. The brigade said in a Facebook post that Shadura had been missing since February 3 after fighting near the eastern city of Bakhmut.
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Ukraine's top general discussed the situation in Bakhmut with US and NATO military leaders
From CNN's Kostan Nechyporenko and Vasco Cotovio
Ukraine’s top military leader, Gen. Valerii Zaluzhnyi, discussed the situation in Bakhmut with US and NATO military leaders, he said in a Telegram post on Tuesday.
Present in the meeting were Supreme Allied Commander Europe and commander of US European Command general Christopher G. Cavoli, UK Chief of the Defence Staff Admiral Sir Anthony Radakin; Chief of the General Staff of the Polish Armed Forces General Rajmund Andrzejczak and Commander of US of Security Assistance Group–Ukraine Gen.-Lt. Antonio Aguto.
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Ukrainian government denies involvement in Nord Stream leaks
From CNN's Natasha Bertrand and Kostan Nechyporenko
“Although I enjoy collecting amusing conspiracy theories about [Ukrainian] government, I have to say: [Ukraine] has nothing to do with the Baltic Sea mishap and has no information about ‘pro-[Ukraine] sabotage groups,’” Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, wrote Tuesday on Twitter.
“What happened to the Nord Stream pipelines? ‘They sank,’ as they say in [the Russian Federation] itself…,” Podolyak added.
Podolyak’s remarks follow a report from The New York Times, which said new intelligence suggests that a “pro-Ukrainian group” carried out an attack on the Russian-owned Nord Stream pipelines that left them badly damaged last year.
A source familiar with the intelligence told CNN that the assessment was not made with high confidence and is not the predominant view of the intelligence community, and the US has not yet identified a culprit. There is a section of the intelligence community, however, that believes pro-Ukrainian actors would have had the motive to sabotage the pipelines because of how Russia was weaponizing them against Ukraine and Europe. The pipelines bypassed Ukraine, and the Russians had threatened to cut off all gas to Europe in response to European sanctions on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.
The intelligence community has no evidence, however, that Ukrainian leaders — including Zelensky — had any knowledge of or involvement in the pipeline sabotage, the source said.
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Putin discussed volunteer battalions with Russian-installed governor of Zaporizhzhia, state media reports
From CNN's Katharina Krebs
Russian President Vladimir Putin held a meeting on Tuesday with Yevgeny Balitsky, the Russian-installed acting governor of the Zaporizhzhia region — which was declared annexed by Putin in September 2022 — where they discussed security issues and a volunteer battalion, according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
“Various issues related to the development of the Zaporizhzhia region, the functioning of the economy of business entities, and other aspects of the socio-economic situation were discussed,” Peskov told Russian state news agency TASS.
Peskov also said that “Balitsky raised the issue of the status of the Sudoplatov Volunteer Battalion with the President.”
In an interview with the Crimea 24 TV channel on Monday, Balitsky said the “unresolved issue” of the status of volunteer battalions makes it difficult for them to receive weapons.
Some background on Russia’s claims of annexed regions: In late September 2022, Putin announced Russia would seize nearly a fifth of Ukraine, including the Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions. The move followed so-called referendums in the regions that were universally dismissed as “shams” by Ukraine and Western nations.
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Exclusive: Zelensky warns of "open road" through Ukraine’s east if Russia captures Bakhmut
From CNN's Rob Picheta
(CNN)
Russian troops will have “open road” to capture key cities in eastern Ukraine if they seize control of Bakhmut, President Volodymyr Zelensky warned in an interview with CNN, as he defended his decision to keep Ukrainian forces in the besieged city.
“This is tactical for us,” Zelensky said, insisting that Kyiv’s military brass is united in prolonging its defense of the city after weeks of Russian attacks left it on the cusp of falling to Moscow’s troops.
“We understand that after Bakhmut they could go further. They could go to Kramatorsk, they could go to Sloviansk, it would be open road for the Russians after Bakhmut to other towns in Ukraine, in the Donetsk direction,” he told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer in an exclusive interview from Kyiv. “That’s why our guys are standing there.”
A weeks-long assault from Wagner mercenary troops, which has picked up pace in recent days, has forced thousands from the city and decimated its infrastructure. But Ukrainian troops have also mounted a dogged defense of the area, stalling Russia’s progress.
Zelensky said his motivations to keep the city are “so different” to Russia’s objectives. “We understand what Russia wants to achieve there. Russia needs at least some victory – a small victory – even by ruining everything in Bakhmut, just killing every civilian there,” Zelensky said.
He said that if Russia is able to “put their little flag” on top of Bakhmut, it would help “mobilize their society in order to create this idea they’re such a powerful army.”
Ukraine says its forces continue to repel Russian attacks on Bakhmut
From CNN’s Vasco Cotovio and Kostan Nechyporenko
A Ukrainian serviceman carries a shell for firing towards Russian positions outside the town of Bakhmut, Ukraine, on March 5.
(Anna Kudriavtseva/Reuters)
Ukrainian forces have continued to repel Russian attacks on the battered city of Bakhmut, the military’s General Staff said in a situation update Tuesday.
“The enemy continues its assaults in the Bakhmut direction,” it said. “They do not stop assaulting the city of Bakhmut. Our defenders repelled attacks in the areas of Ivanivske, Klishchiivka, and Bakhmut.”
According to the Ukrainian military, Russian forces continue to focus their offensive not just on Bakhmut but also on Kupiansk, Lyman, Avdiivka, and Shakhtarsk.
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Moscow court sentences blogger to prison for discrediting Russian army
From CNN's Katharina Krebs
Dmitry Ivanov speaks from inside an enclosure for defendants as he attends a court hearing in Moscow on Tuesday.
(Reuters)
Moscow court has sentenced Dmitry Ivanov, the author of the Protest MSU telegram channel to eight and a half years in prison, after convicting him of spreading fakes about the Russian army, the press service of the court told Russian state media RIA Novosti on Tuesday.
“According to the verdict of the Timiryazevsky District Court of Moscow, Dmitry Ivanov was found guilty of committing a crime under clause d, part 2, article 207.3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, and he was sentenced to 8 years and 6 months in prison, with punishment to be served in a correctional colony of general regime, with the deprivation of the right to engage in activities related to the administration of sites of electronic and information and telecommunication networks, including the Internet, for a period of 4 years,” the source said, as quoted by RIA.
Under the article on the dissemination of fakes about the Russian army based on political or other hatred, punishment is provided in the form of imprisonment for a term of 5 to 10 years.
According to RIA, the prosecutor’s office asked to sentence Ivanov to 9 years in prison.
Ivanov’s lawyer Maria Eismont commented on the court’s verdict in a video posted on the Prison MSU telegram channel, which was created in support of Dmitry Ivanov.
“A person got a sentence for the same term as people get for murder and other violent crimes just because he voiced an opinion different to the press release of the defense ministry. This is a horrible reality that we live in right now,” said Eismont.
In another video posted on the Telegram channel, Ivanov’s mother, Elena Ivanova, expressed hope that her son will soon be freed.
“A person should not be imprisoned for his beliefs. This verdict will certainly be overturned. Sooner or later it will be overturned,” she said, adding that “many share his position. He is not alone. We have a lot of people who support him.”
RIA Novosti reported that the investigation found numerous posts were published on the Protest MSU Telegram channel, which spoke of alleged crimes committed by the Russian Armed Forces, including the murders of the civilian population of Ukraine.
In March and April last year, the Protest MSU Telegram channel was actively reposting statements of the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky and several Russian opposition figures condemning the war in Ukraine.
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NATO must decide on permanent military forces to protect Baltics, German defense minister says
From CNN’s Inke Kappeler in Berlin
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said on Tuesday that NATO, not Germany has to decide on permanent military forces to protect the Baltic countries.
“In the end, this is not so much a question of what Germany intends to do, but rather what NATO thinks is right and necessary,” Pistorius said during a joint news conference with his Lithuanian counterpart Arvydas Anusauskas.
“What does NATO say is the right thing to do militarily and in terms of deterrence and flexibility? A permanent brigade in the Baltic or several?” Pistorius said.
The German defense minister added the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) and NATO were considering “flexible units to protect the entire eastern flank.”
In the news conference, Anusauskas said Lithuania was looking for a “permanent presence of the German brigade in Lithuania” as the NATO defense line starts in Lithuania, he said, adding that the country was preparing the necessary infrastructure to host the German military.
Pistorius continued to say Germany plans the deployment of a “huge apparatus “consisting of 5,000 soldiers in this brigade plus civilian employees and family members.
Some more context: Germany has been present in Lithuania since the occupation of Crimea in 2014 to secure the eastern flank in Lithuania. At present 1,400 German soldiers are stationed in the Baltic country.
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Ukraine and Russia exchanges more than 100 prisoners of war in latest swap
From CNN's Anna Chernova and Kostan Nechyoirenko
Ukraine and Russia have exchanged prisoners of war in another swap, announced by both sides on Tuesday.
Moscow said it had been able to return 90 servicemen from territory controlled by Kyiv, whereas Ukraine said it had been able to bring back 130 of its soldiers from Russian captivity.
“Another prisoner swap — we managed to bring home 130 of our people — 126 men and 4 women,” the Ukrainian President’s Chief of Staff Andriy Yermak posted on Telegram on Thursday. “Among them — 87 defenders of Mariupol, 71 of whom are from Azovstal. We are also returning those taken prisoner in the area of Bakhmut and Soledar — 35 people in total from the Donetsk direction.”
Russia’s Ministry of Defense also said the soldiers it was able to exchange for were in “mortal danger” and said they’d be flown to Moscow for treatment.
“As a result of the negotiation process, 90 Russian servicemen who were in mortal danger have been returned from the territory controlled by the Kyiv regime,” it said in a statement on Tuesday. “Airplanes of the military transport aviation of the Russian Aerospace Forces will transport the released servicemen to Moscow for treatment and rehabilitation at medical institutions of the Russian Defense Ministry.”
“All those released are being provided with the necessary medical and psychological assistance,” it added.
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Ukrainians say heavy Russian attacks continue in Luhansk region
From CNN's Kostan Nechyporenko
While most attention is focused on the battle for the city of Bakhmut, fierce battles continue a short distance to the north, according to Ukrainian officials.
Serhiy Hayday, head of the Luhansk region military administration, says the situation “is difficult [in the Luhansk region] but controlled by the Defense Forces of Ukraine.”
He said on Ukrainian television that “the most difficult areas are Bilohorivka and Kreminna” where there were constant assaults and shelling by Russian troops.
“They are trying to push out our defenders to reach Stelmakhivka, Nevske, and recapture these settlements.”
Stelmakhivka and Nevske are villages on the borders of the Luhansk and Kharkiv regions that were recaptured by Ukrainian forces in September.
“When they [the Russians] lose personnel and their hardware is damaged, they take time to “recover” for about a day, replenish their supplies, and then go on the offensive again,” Hayday said.
Hayday said the Russians were regularly changing their tactics. “There were small groups; there were offensives with up to three companies of exclusively infantry; there was an offensive using “armor” with up to two companies supported by “heavy” hardware.”
In that way, the Russians were constantly trying to test the strength of Ukrainian defenses, he said.
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Fewer than 4,000 civilians remain in embattled city of Bakhmut, according to Ukrainian official
From Olga Voitovych in Kyiv and CNN’s Vasco Cotovio
A local resident walks on an empty street in the front line city of Bakhmut, Ukraine, on March 3.
(Oleksandr Ratushniak/Reuters)
Nearly 4,000 civilians remain inside the battered eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, the country’s Vice Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said on Tuesday.
“As of today, less than 4,000 people remain in Bakhmut. Speaking of children, about 38 children, as far as we know, remain in Bakhmut,” Vereshchuk said in a televised address. “More than 70,000 people lived in Bakhmut, that is, 95% were evacuated. As for children, there were 12,000 of them.”
Vereshchuck said Ukrainian workers were still working to evacuate the remainder of the population but the current situation makes their jobs even more difficult.
“Bakhmut has been destroyed in terms of infrastructure and housing. Almost 80% of the houses have been damaged. Social infrastructure is not functioning,” she said.
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Wagner boss Prigozhin appears to criticize Russian defense minister for staying away from front lines
From CNN's Tim Lister
Yevgeny Prigozhin, founder of Russia's Wagner mercenary force, speaks in Paraskoviivka, Ukraine, in this still image from an undated video released on March 3.
(Concord Press Service/Reuters)
The head of the Wagner private military contractor, Yevgeny Prigozhin, took another swipe at Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu while answering questions about his fighters’ progress in and around Bakhmut.
Prigozhin was asked about Shoigu’s claim that Russian forces had killed 11,000 Ukrainian soldiers around Bakhmut in February.
He agreed with the assessment but was quick to claim credit, saying on his Telegram account, “I think that the Minister of Defense assessed them correctly. PMC ‘Wagner’ killed about 11,000 people in February. ”
It is not possible to verify the figures given by Shoigu or Prigozhin. And NATO intelligence estimates that for every Ukrainian soldier killed defending Bakhmut, Russian forces have lost at least five, a NATO official told CNN on Monday.
Prigozhin has been seen on multiple occasions in the Bakhmut area. Shoigu visited parts of Russian-occupied Ukraine during the weekend but appears to have stayed away from the front lines.
Answering journalists’ questions on Telegram, Prigozhin estimated there were somewhere between 12,000 and 20,000 Ukrainian troops still in the Bakhmut area.
“Let us calmly kill this bear. Believe me, we are doing everything for this, although we are still not given ammunition, military equipment, weapons, and vehicles. Sapper shovels after almost a month, by the way, were given,” he said.
Prigozhin has repeatedly attacked the defense ministry for not providing ammunition and supplies to Wagner, blaming the ministry for the deaths of his fighters.
On Telegram, Prigozhin also repeated his respect for Ukrainian forces, but also said that “the same blood flows in them.”
“The hardest battles are going on both day and night, but the Ukrainians do not run away anywhere. … Ukrainians are not running away. They die en masse for Bakhmut and surrender only as a last resort. Stop calling them cowards. They are the same as we are, and the same blood flows in them,” he said.
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UN chief heading to Ukraine to meet President Zelensky
From CNN’s Alex Hardie
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres is on his way to Ukraine, his spokesperson, Stephane Dujarric, said Tuesday.
In a statement, the spokesperson said Guterres is currently in Poland and will meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday morning in Kyiv.
The pair will discuss “the continuation of the Black Sea Grain Initiative in all its aspects, as well as other pertinent issues,” according to the statement.
The United Nations said the initiative allows for commercial food and fertilizer exports from three key Ukrainian ports in the Black Sea to lower-income countries.
This is the UN chief’s third visit to Ukraine, and he will be back in New York by Thursday afternoon, his spokesperson added.
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In photos: Ukrainians leave their homes behind as they evacuate frontline towns and cities in the east
From CNN's Sarah Tilotta
As Russian forces continue offensive measures across eastern Ukraine, civilians are being evacuated from residential areas vulnerable to Russian shelling and attacks.
Photos show officials and volunteers from various nongovernmental organizations helping transport elderly residents and children to safer locations in the Donbas and Kharkiv regions.
A woman reacts as she evacuates her home in the village of Minkivka, north of Bakhmut, Ukraine, on March 5.
(Ignacio Marin/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
Raisa, 69, helps prepare her granddaughter Katia, 4, to evacuate their home due to Russian shelling in Kupyansk, Ukraine, on March 6.
(John Moore/Getty Images)
A woman carries a single piece of luggage during an evacuation from Kupyansk, Ukraine, on March 6. Volunteers from the European Traditions of Charity (ETOC) have been evacuating vulnerable civilians from the city to the regional capital of Kharkiv.
(John Moore/Getty Images)
The Ukrainian military says there have been dozens of Russian attacks in and around the embattled city of Bakhmut in the past day.
As of March 1, Ukrainian officials said there were still around 4,500 civilians in Bakhmut, as Russian forces continue to barrage the city.
At least 5 to 10 people are being evacuated from Bakhmut each day, the city’s deputy mayor Oleksandr Marchenko said Sunday.
A man reacts as volunteers from the nongovernmental organization Road to Relief assist him evacuating his home in the village of Minkivka, Ukraine, on March 5.
(Ignacio Marin/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
Valentyna Stadnyk, 82, is evacuated from her home in Kramatorsk, Ukraine, by workers with the nongovernmental organization Vostok SOS on March 6.
(Ed Ram/Getty Images)
Family members embrace as evacuees prepare to board a bus from Chasiv Yar, Ukraine, on February 28. The community has come under heavy shelling as Russian forces try to encircle nearby Bakhmut.
(John Moore/Getty Images)
CNN’s Tim Lister, Olga Voitovych, Vasco Cotovio, Maria Kostenko, Maria Avdeeva, Saskya Vandoorne and Niamh Kennedy contributed to this report.
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It's mid-afternoon in Kyiv. Here's what you need to know
From CNN staff
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu has said that capturing the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut will allow Russian forces to advance further into Ukraine.
Elsewhere, Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang has talked up Beijing’s relationship with Moscow in an “unstable” world.
Here are the latest headlines:
Fight for Bakhmut continues: Russian forces suffered “significant losses” after launching dozens of attacks around the eastern city of Bakhmut during the past 24 hours, the Ukrainian military said Tuesday. Many of those attacks were to the north of Bakhmut, where Russian forces are trying to cut the Ukrainians’ ability to access the city, it said.
Taking Bakhmut will allow further offensives, says Shoigu: Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu says that capturing Bakhmut will allow Russian forces to advance further into Ukraine. “This city is an important defense hub of Ukrainian troops in the Donbas,” said Shoigu at a military conference in Moscow.
Executed Ukrainian soldier named: The Ukrainian army has named the soldier whose execution at the hands of Russian soldiers can be seen in a video posted on social media. “According to preliminary information, the dead man is a soldier of the 30th separate mechanized brigade, Tymofii Mykolayovych Shadura,” said the brigade.
Lukashenko claims Ukrainian spy arrested: Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has claimed that a “terrorist” working for the Ukrainian special services has been detained in the country after a failed attempt to destroy a Russian plane at an airfield in Belarus last month.
Chinese minister hails relations with Russia: Good relations between Beijing and Moscow are essential in this unstable world, China’s foreign minister said Tuesday. “The more unstable the world becomes, the more imperative it is for China and Russia to steadily advance their relations,” Qin Gang said.
Qin draws parallels between Ukraine and Taiwan: China’s foreign minister on Tuesday equated any possible future military support from Beijing for Russia’s war in Ukraine with US weapons sales to the self-ruled island of Taiwan. “Why does the US ask China not to provide weapons to Russia while it keeps selling arms to Taiwan?” asked Qin.
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Belarus' president claims "terrorist" from Ukraine involved in attempt to destroy Russian aircraft at airfield
From CNN's Tim Lister
Belarus' President Alexander Lukashenko interviewed at the Independence Palace, Minsk, Belarus, on February 16.
(Natalia Kolesnikova/AFP/Getty Images)
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has claimed that a “terrorist” working for the Ukrainian special services has been detained in the country after a failed attempt to destroy a Russian plane at an airfield in Belarus.
Lukashenko said the “terrorist” and accomplices had been involved in an attempt to sabotage a Russian A-50 surveillance aircraft based at the Machulishchi airfield near the capital, Minsk, last month.
“Thanks to our operatives — the State Security Committee, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and border guards — we identified and detained him,” Lukashenko said at an awards ceremony in Minsk on Tuesday.
“To date, more than 20 accomplices who are on the territory of Belarus have been detained.”
Lukashenko claimed that the perpetrator of the attack had been recruited by Ukraine’s secret service in 2014 and was an IT specialist holding both Ukrainian and Russian passports
He had crossed the border from Latvia into Russia and then traveled to Minsk, he claimed.
“Unfortunately, Russian border guards missed him,” said Lukashenko, who also alleged that the CIA was involved in the plot.
“Fortunately, the plane did not suffer any significant damage, except, as they say, scratches and one hole in the hull, which does not interfere with the military aircraft from performing its duties,” he said.
Last month, a Belarusian partisan group claimed that it had seriously damaged the plane using a drone, but no physical evidence of the damage was presented.
Opposition activists told CNN that the A-50 had been destroyed in the attack.
Mykhailo Podolyak, adviser to the head of the Office of President of Ukraine, responded to Lukashenko’s claims.
“We should clarify definitions,” Podolyak said in a tweet.
Olga Voitovych contributed reporting to this post.
