State television in Belarus on Wednesday denied a claim by activists of having blown up a Russian military surveillance aircraft and showed footage of what it said was the undamaged plane.
A Belarusian anti-government group said it had attacked the Beriev A-50 aircraft with drones on Saturday at an airfield near Minsk. Belarus, a staunch Russian ally, has allowed Moscow to use its territory to launch attacks on Ukraine.
In a report entitled "Stop fake!", Belarus state TV showed brief footage of what it said was the same plane the activists claimed to have damaged.
"As you see can the plane ... is carrying out its work within the framework of the allied grouping of Belarus and Russia, alive and in one piece," said a commentator.
The plane is an airborne early-warning aircraft with command and control capabilities and the ability to track up to 60 targets at a time.
The comments were the first from an official source in either Moscow or Minsk about the supposed attack.
There have been several acts of sabotage in Belarus and in Russian regions bordering Ukraine, especially on the railway system, since the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
