Six of the suspects are Tajikistani citizens, while two have Russian citizenship. So far no evidence has been produced connecting them to either Belarus or Ukraine, although the chief of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), Alexander Bortnikov, claimed today to have “primary data that we received from the detainees” allegedly confirming the men were linked to Ukraine.
In a national address following the attack, Putin alleged that Ukraine nationals had prepared an escape route for the terrorists. Russian officials subsequently repeated the claim Ukraine had been involved, also hinting that the UK and the U.S. might have been complicit.
Lukashenko’s account, however, contrasts sharply with Moscow’s narrative. The Belarus leader has promised to contact Putin to discuss the investigation.
“Their orchestrators — we have our suspicions about some of them, and I intend to call Putin to convey my suspicions,” he said.
Denis Leven is hosted at POLITICO under the EU-funded EU4FreeMedia residency program.
