Russia just lost one of its most important communication weapons in Belarus

The Russian Air Force has allegedly lost one of its most important communication weapons in Belarus to sabotage according to a statement made by a Belarusian partisan group.

Leaders from The Association of Security Forces of Belarus (BYPOL) announced on February 26th that their organization attacked an airfield in Minsk using drones and destroyed a Russian Beriev A-50, though the news has not been independently verified. 

"They were drones (that carried out the attack). The participants of the operation are Belarusians," Alexander Azarov was quoted as saying on the organization's official Telegram Channel according to a Reuters report. 

Azarov is the leader of the Belarusian partisan group that carried out the attack, an organization Reuters stated was made up primarily of former law enforcement officers who support their country’s political opposition currently in exile in Lithuania. 

The Belarusian partisan group did not identify the type of drone they used for their attack on Machulishchy airfield according to The Guardian's Andrew Roth and Peter Beaumont, but they did say the people involved in the attack were "now safely outside the country."

The Russian Beriev A-50 aircraft destroyed by BYPOL was one of nine in Putin’s arsenal and costs upwards of $330 million dollars according to a statement made by the Belarusian partisan group and published by The Guardian. 

“The damage is serious, the plane will definitely not fly anywhere,” BYPOL wrote on their Telegram channel, adding elsewhere that “the front and central parts of the aircraft were damaged, the avionics and the radar antenna were damaged.”

The Belarusian partisan group also noted that the attack on the Beriev A-50 at Machulishchy airfield took place while snow crews were “working near the aircraft,” before adding a joke about how the aircraft was probably destroyed by a smoking Russian soldier. 

“Probably, as has happened more than once at Russian military facilities, someone again did not comply with fire safety measures and smoked near the side,” the partisan group wrote on their Telegram channel. 

An advisor to Belarus’ official opposition leader in exile, Sviatlana Tsihanouskaya called the attack on Machulishchy airfield one of the most successful operations Belarusian partisans have conducted since the war started in February 2022. 

“This is the most successful diversion since the beginning of 2022,” wrote Franak Viačorka wrote in a post on his official Twitter account. 

Photo by LinkedIn @franak

“Two Belarusians conducted the operation. They used drones for this operation and have already left the country and are in safety now,” Viačorka added. 

Russian officials declined to comment on the attack when asked about it according to Andrew Roth and Peter Beaumont, and when asked by Russian journalists about the attack, Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov said: “We have nothing to say about this.” 

BYPOL has warned Belarusian citizens to be careful when commenting on social media about the attack at Machulishchy airfield since Alexander Lukashenko’s regime is already cracking down on those who leave positive comments online. 

“BYPOL is already receiving information that the punishers have begun to work out social networks in order to identify persons commenting on the events at the Machulishchi airfield in a negative way,” the partisan group posted on Telegram. 

“Dear Belarusians, be careful, observe digital hygiene, and do not expose yourself once again by leaving comments under the news,” BYPOL added.