Zelensky Asked Lukashenko to Extradite Russians Detained in Belarus

Volodymyr Zelenskyy asked the President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, to transfer to Kiev the Russians detained near Minsk, suspected of terrorist activities in Ukraine. The President of Ukraine told Lukashenka about during a telephone conversation on August 5. The President of Belarus press service reported that Minsk is ready to cooperate with Kiev within the framework of agreements signed with Russia and Ukraine. Belarusian special services detained a group of 33 Russians at the end of July. Some of them have Ukrainian citizenship. Minsk considers the detainees to be members of "Wagner's private military company". The Russian consul in Belarus said that the Russians were transit passing to one of the Latin America’s countries. When analyzing the Russians’ detention video, Radio Svoboda drew attention to the fact that they had Sudanese banknotes and telephone cards with them. Sudan, as follows from numerous investigations, is one of the bases of "PMC Wagner". The Belarusian authorities believe that the Russians could have been involved in preparing riots during the presidential elections in Belarus, which are to be held on August 9. Within the elections, President Alexander Lukashenko faced opposition competition, a part of which united against the candidacy of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya. Among the detained Russians there are people who previously allegedly fought in the Donbas against Ukrainian forces. Kiev has already announced it will seek the extradition of most of the detainees.