Russian President Vladimir Putin commented on the situation with the detention of Russian citizens in Belarus.
He said that the incident was an operation by American and Ukrainian special services. The Russian leader said that this is known for certain:
“It’s obvious now. This is a special services action. These people, whom you mentioned, were secretly used in order to move to the territory of Belarus, to set completely legal goals for them, they had, as they were told, to leave for third countries, there, in Latin America, in the Middle East, just for absolutely legal work. In fact, they were dragged into the territory of Belarus and presented as a possible striking force to sway the situation during the election campaign”.