Lukashenko reappeared in public
After days of speculation about his health, Belarusian ruler Alexander Lukashenko reappeared at an appointment with the military. State television in Minsk showed the 68-year-old in a military green uniform on Monday. Previously there had been reports of an illness and an alleged hospital stay for the politician, who had disappeared from the scene for days.
“Let’s look at what is happening around our country, especially in the air,” Lukashenko said. He then went directly into shooting downs of helicopters and planes in the Bryansk region on the border with Ukraine and Belarus, which had not even been confirmed by the Russian leadership. The events in the Russian region on Saturday put Belarus on heightened alert, Lukashenko said.
“Four planes were shot down. We had to react to that. Since then, we have been in increased readiness,” he said. So far, the Russian authorities had only confirmed the “crash” of a helicopter, but did not give any details. On the other hand, Russian media reported that two Su-34 and Su-35 Sukhoi fighter jets and two Mi-8 helicopters had been shot down with rockets.