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On July 29, 33 Russian citizens were arrested near Minsk, who are considered by the Belarusian authorities as members of Wagner, who intend to provoke disturbances before the presidential elections in the country. Ukraine suspects that some of these people may have been involved on the pro-Russian separatist side in the ongoing conflict in eastern Ukraine.
During the telephone conversation, V. Zelenskis stated that he was convinced that those who had contributed to the activities of illegal groups in Donbass could not avoid fair punishment.
“I hope that all those suspected of terrorist activities on the territory of Ukraine will be extradited to us to bring them to justice in accordance with applicable international legal instruments,” he said.
The Heads of State agreed on the need to continue cooperating in the extradition to Ukraine of persons suspected of terrorist activities on their territory.
Zelensky also personally thanked Lukashenko for the humanitarian aid provided to the population of western Ukraine affected by the floods in July.
“This gesture of true friendship by Belarus once again reflects the values of the partnership between our countries,” the president said.
In addition, the leaders discussed the spread of COVID-19 in both countries, as well as the fight against the infection.
AFP / Scanpix photo / Volodymyr Zelensky
As the Russian consul in Belarus Kirill Pletniov said on Monday, the detained Russians say they were in transit on their way to Latin America. According to the diplomat, on July 25 they all had to fly from Minsk to Istanbul and then to a third country.
On July 30, Kiev said it would request the extradition of the detainees, as many of them allegedly participated in hostilities in eastern Ukraine on the side of pro-Russian separatists. The following day, Minsk delivered a list of detainees to Kiev.
The General Prosecutor’s Office of Ukraine reported that 28 people, 9 of whom were Ukrainian citizens, were suspected of participating in a terrorist organization. The authority confirmed that it would request the release of all the detainees.
Last week, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russia did not recognize the Ukrainian detainees as Ukrainian citizens.
“We do not recognize Ukrainian citizenship. They are Russian citizens,” he said, commenting on his possible extradition to Ukraine.
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