Former director of the Belarusian TV Company Elena Martynovskaya has said Russia deployed two planes carrying propaganda teams to Minsk late on August 18.
Martynovskaya says she was not allowed to her workplace this morning after being blacklisted by her management, along with other protest supporters from among TV channel's staff, TUT.BY reports.
Read alsoUkraine decries allegations of "special operation" to arrest Wagner PMC troops as "fake story""At 09:00, my colleagues and I were approaching the building. There was a checkpoint, the police officers were there, and they asked where we were going. They said: 'Please, show your ID.' They looked at the name and said: 'Sorry, you can't pass, you're not on the list. We can't let you pass,'" she told TUT.BY.
Martynovskaya also clarified who has replaced her on the job.
"Oh yeah. That's a very interesting story. Two planes arrived from Russia, bringing employees who are now performing our functions for a very large pay. Here, in the Republic [of Belarus], we have no money to provide doctors with face masks, we raise funds all over the country, but we do have money for new news teams," she said.
The Belarusian TV Company staff partially supported protests contesting election results. Since the outbreak of a new wave of opposition rallies, journalists started quitting the TV company, while other employees joined the main demands of protesters to hold another election.
Earlier, it became known the Tu-214PU aircraft of Russia's FSB had landed in Minsk on Tuesday, August 18, amid protests across the country.
Russia's "support" for Lukashenko
- Russia became one of the first countries to congratulate Lukashenko on his alleged win in the presidential elections in Belarus, while Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia made no such calls. Ukraine did not congratulate Lukashenko either.
- Later, the EU said the Belarus election had been rigged, and recognized Lukashenko persona non grata. In parallel lines, the West is preparing a package of sanctions against those involved in the violence and killings of protesters in the early days of unrest.
- At the same time, eyewitnesses spotted convoys of Russian Guard trucks heading toward Belarusian border. Also, several aircraft of the Belarus air force were spotted flying to Russian military bases.
- Both European diplomats and U.S. legislators, as well as political scientists, have expressed concerns about Russia's meddling in Belarus, with some warning of the unfolding of the "Crimea scenario".
