Panic In Belarus As Fighter Jet Shoots Down Russian Drone Before Huge Explosion
Express. Home of the Daily and Sunday Express. HOME News Politics Royal Showbiz & TV Sport Comment Finance Travel Life & Style UK World Politics Royal US Weather Science History Weird Nature Sunday InYourArea The Russian drone was reportedly a Shahed, which is also known as a ‘kamikaze drone’. 12:30, Thu, Aug 29, 2024 | UPDATED: 12:49, Thu, Aug 29, 2024
The drone allegedly shot down by Belarus is believed to have been a Shahed (Image: Getty)
A Belarusian fighter jet shot down a stray Russian drone moments before a loud explosion went off, according to a local monitoring project.
The group claimed the Russian drone entered Belarus’s airspace at approximately 3.30am local time on Thursday (1.30 am BST).
The Belarusian Hajun group said two explosions were then heard 30 minutes later in the country’s Yelsk district.
The organisation said the incident is “probably the first recorded case of a Belarusian Air Force Fighter attempting to destroy a military target in the sky.”
The unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is believed to have been an Iran-made Shahed, also known as a “Kamikaze drone.”
❗️Aviation was used for the first time in Belarus to shoot down a Shahed drone
According to @Hajun_BY, last night, during another Russian attack against Ukraine, one of the Shahed drones again flew into the territory of Belarus in Yelsk district. It happened at 03:30.
1/3 pic.twitter.com/QwfqEvR4rI
— Belarusian Hajun project (@Hajun_BY) August 29, 2024 The group told Newsweek there were no further details available at the moment about the incident.
They, however, noted that Belarus has been “sending aircraft to control the drones flying into Belarus for a while, so deploying aircraft is not something unusual for the Belarusian Air Force in recent months.”
They added: “But today was the first time [they] actually shoot it down.”
Belarus is one of a handful of countries Russia can still count as an ally and granted Moscow full access to its military airbases to launch attacks on Ukraine since the invasion began.
The Belarusian Hajun Project had previously reported an increase in patrolling at Baranovichi Airfield, home of the 61st Fighter Air Base, in western Belarus.
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Ukraine earlier this week issued President Alexander Lukashenko a stern warning over the concerning build-up of troops in the border region of Gomel.
Kyiv vowed to respond to any attempts by Belarusian forces to breach the frontier.
Minsk has not become directly involved in the invasion, serving only as a launching pad for Russia’s attacks, as Belarusians “don’t want any part in Putin’s bloody war,” according to Frank Viačorka, a senior advisor to Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya.
Ms Tsikhanouskaya challenged Lukashenko in the 2020 presidential election. The results of the voter are internationally seen as fraudulent.
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