Belarusian opposition said on February 26 that they damaged a Russian military plane in a drone attack at an airbase near the capital, Minsk.

The Belarusian anti-government organization BYPOL posted a statement on Telegram that said the Beriev A-50 aircraft was struck by two blasts near the Machulishchy air base.

“The front and central parts of the plane were damaged, the avionics and the radar antenna were damaged. The damage is serious, the plane will definitely not fly anywhere,” the statement read.

A later statement, made by BYPOL’s leader, Aliaksandr Azarov, said the explosions were caused by a drone attack carried out by Belarusians.

Russian and Belarusian governments have yet to comment on the incident. Belarusian media reported that the border committee was looking for the saboteurs.

An image taken by Planet Labs PBC shows the Beriev A-50, the largest plane seen on the far left, parked at the Machulishchy air base on February 19, a week before BYPOL claimed the attack. Credit: Planet Labs PBC via Storyful

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