Belsat TV visited the village where a former Belarusian commando killed in Donbas was buried.
The Belarusian authorities have been chanting the slogan ‘Anything rather than war’. But the war that is going on between Ukraine and Russia, has already come to Belarus – it is seen in St. George’s ribbons that have become a symbol of invading Ukraine, in tens of thousands of refugees, in Belarusian citizens returning home in zinc coffins.
Vadzim Vasileuski, a Belarusian special forces soldier, died two months shy of his 35th anniversary. He was buried on July, 12. A month earlier, he had been seen in the village where his parents live. No one is said to know about his participating in the conflict in Donbas. He was killed close to the border with Rostov region, his friends say.
“The column was moving and a shell directly hit the vehicle. His body was collected piece by piece; he was identified only by his tattoo and birthmarks,” says Vitaly, a friend of Vadzim Vasileuski.
Vasileuski served in the Belarusian Army’s special forces (Fifth special action brigade). He retired in the rank of Captain about five years ago. He was married and had two children.
“His colleagues came to say last goodbye to him, the military were carrying the coffin to the church, and from the church to the cemetery – two and a half kilometers,” Vitaly says.
Asked why Vasileuski went to Donbas, he answered: “You know … in a word, he was a soldier of fortune. He liked all the military things.”
After leaving the brigade, Vasileuski worked as an instructor at the Centre of Special Training ‘Dinamo’. In Donbass, he fought on the side of the unrecognised Donetsk People’s Republic. The first report on his alleged death appeared in September, 2014. The last entry on his Facebook page was made in April, 2015. Thus, Vasileuski took part in military actions at least a year. Belarusian chekists are highle likely to be aware of this fact of mercenarism, but instead of swiftly dealing with it, they are after Belsat TV and its journalists.
Collecting facts for this story, our crew made an attempt to talk to commanders of the 5th brigade. As a result, the reporters were detained and their flash card containing a piece of footage was seized. The officers of the State Security Committee (KGB) initiated checks on the journalists over the fact of filming.
But despite this, we believe it is important to tell the story of Vadzim Vasileuski, which may be an example to those for whom the war in Ukraine is not only a tragedy, but also a training ground for pursuing their own ambitions.
Arkadz Nestsyarenka, Ales Lyubyanchuk
