MINSK, May 7. /TASS/. Information that Belarusian authorities have refused payments to war veterans on the occasion of Victory Day is not true while attempts by the opposition to raise funds for these citizens are merely a media stunt, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko stated on Friday.

"We pay and support them monthly. And it is not true that we won’t support them this time: we have three monthly payments and lump sum payments. And we earmarked substantial funds in order to support the war veterans, survivors of the Siege of Leningrad, homefront workers and others," the president’s press service quoted him as saying.

At the same time, he said that it is blood money being collected for the veterans of the Great Patriotic War via internet platforms. "They shouldn’t raise money for our veterans. They won’t take the money from them: there is blood on this money. These people walking around with their flags, traitors and collaborators, are not their friends or helpers," Lukashenko said.

According to him, the news is being promoted because the opposition cannot form an agenda and it tries to use every opportunity to discredit the government. At the same time, the Belarusian president noted that representatives of the opposition went abroad with the sole goal of intercepting financial flows directed to Belarus to support protest rallies. "After all, the Belarusian opposition is being supported abroad at the expense of Western taxpayers and foundations created there to eliminate competition," he noted.