Belarusian president claims sabotage of A-50 aircraft by Ukraine thwarted

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on Tuesday claimed that the sabotage of an A-50 aircraft in the Machulishchy air base in the Minsk region by Ukraine was thwarted by the authorities.

During an award ceremony in the capital Minsk, Lukashenko claimed that a person and his accomplices, all of which allegedly work for the Security Service of Ukraine, were detained before attempting to sabotage, according to the Belarusian state news agency Belta.

"The Security Service of Ukraine, the leadership of the CIA worked out an operation against the Republic of Belarus either behind our backs or from the side," Lukashenko claimed, further claiming that the person arrested is an ethnic Russian born in Ukraine who also held a Russian and Ukrainian passport.

"He was recruited by Ukraine's intelligence service probably in 2014. An IT professional or someone who knows IT technologies well. He was trained to carry out terrorist attacks," Lukashenko also claimed.

He added that the alleged attack was in preparation six to eight months in advance and the person detained was trained for more than a month by Ukraine's security services before being sent to the country.

Belarus, a close ally of Russia, has aided Moscow's ongoing war on Ukraine -- which has decimated large swathes of the country and led to mass deaths and displacements -- but is not a direct party to the war.

Lukashenko said last December that Minsk has no plans to fight against Ukraine but will respond if attacked.