Military vehicles at Belarus railway station: Zapad-2017 over, Russian soldiers going home


‘Goodbye, Ivan!’ Our journalists filmed the departure of Russian tanks infantry fighting vehicles from the railway station in Asipovichy district. The Zapad-2017 military exercise is over, and Russian troops are reported to be leaving Belarus.

But is everything really so obvious?

They figuratively divided Belarus, detained Belarusian citizens; in spite of commitments on transparency and openness, they did not allow reporters to film and ask questions.

Meanwhile, it is still unclear how many thousand soldiers took part in the drills. It is also unclear whether all the troops are leaving Belarus. Here are the pictures of tanks and infantry fighting vehicles on railway platforms that are allegedly departing. However, military vehicles do not have any markings, except for number plates, it is unknown in which direction the train will move.

Detention of journalist filming Russian military vehicles

The police detained a Belarusian journalist filming Russian military vehicles, but they did not draw a protocol upon him. The reason for the detention was not explained either.

“A local policeman said that I had not violated anything,” Ales Asiptsou said.

Later, the policemen apologized to Ales. However, after some time, a military patrol briefly detained Belsat TV journalists, who came to the scene.

Opposition’s protest

Before the maneuvers, the Belarusian opposition held protest rallies. Some people accused politicians of heightening tensions and fear appeal. At any rate, it is the wide public response that allowed to avoid the worst scenario, Mikalai Statkevich a former political prisoner and the leader of the Belarusian National Congress, told Belsat.

Nevertheless, the threat to our independence has not disappeared. According to Statkevich, Russia might keep equipment and provision for its troops in the territory of Belarus.

Belsat.eu

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