On August 10, Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) detained a 30-year-old citizen of Belarus who allegedly fought on the side of pro-Russian separatists, the prosecutor’s office of Donetsk region reports.
According to security officials, the Belarusian, whose name is not given, was in the ranks of the tank battalion Somali (Somalia) in Donbas in 2014. The man, who was promoted to senior sergeant, was paid for his service, the Ukrainian side stresses.
The Belarusian citizen took part in the seizure of Donetsk airport in the winter of 2015, the prosecutor’s office states. After that, the man left Somali for some time, but in 2015 he returned and joined one of the units of the so-called Donetsk republic.
Now he is being held in the pre-trial detention centre on suspicion of having committed a crime under Article 258-3 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (establishment or participation in a terrorist organization). The Belarusian may face up to 15 years in prison.
It is the first time a Belarusian-born DPR militant has been arrested in Ukraine.
Aссording to belsat.eu estimations, about 1,000 Belarusians are involved in the war in Donbas.
КА, belsat.eu
