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Crisis in Belarus

LPR says Belarusian blogger Protasevich was sniper in Ukrainian Azov nationalist battalion

Earlier, Protasevich denied visiting the conflict zone in Donbass

LUGANSK, June 4. /TASS/. Belarusian opposition blogger Roman Protasevich shot at civilians when he was a sniper in the Ukrainian Azov nationalist paramilitary battalion, Ivan Filiponenko, a spokesman for the People’s Militia of the self-proclaimed Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR) said on Friday.

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Detained blogger admits guilt in organizing actions violating public order

"Protasevich says he did nothing wrong as he was just a journalist on the frontline. But according to our sources in the Ukrainian army group Sever, Protasevich was a sniper and was seen to drill his shooting skills on civilians, medics and rescuers who were helping these people," LugansInformCenter quoted him as saying.

Apart from that, in his words, Protasevich organized "transit of those who wanted to earn some money and fight for the Ukrainian army in Donbass." According to Filiponenko, the price for the transfer from Minsk to the conflict zone in Donbass was 5,000 US dollars. "The sum included a seven-day stay in the area, meals and three walks to the frontline with the chance to shoot various types of weapons," he said.

In an interview with Belarus’ ONT television channel on Thursday, Protasevich said as a foreigner he could not have been a member of the Azov battalion. He also denied visiting the conflict zone in Donbass.

The LPR prosecutor general’s office earlier asked Belarus to allow Protasevich to be taken to the LPR to conduct an investigative re-enactment procedure. Protasevich faces criminal charges in the LPR on suspicion of taking part in combat operations in Donbass in the period from the summer of 2014 to the winter of 2015 as a member of the Azov battalion, which is outlawed in the LPR, after voluntarily joining it in 2014. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said on June 2 that LPR investigators could visit Protasevich.

Protasevich, one of the co-founders of the Nexta Telegram channel, which was recognized as an extremist entity in Belarus, was detained on May 23 after a passenger jet belonging to Ryanair, an Irish low-cost airline, flying from Athens to Vilnius on May 23 made an emergency landing at Minsk International Airport upon receiving a bomb threat. Protasevich, currently living in Lithuania and wanted in Belarus, was among the passengers. Upon inspection, no bomb was found. Belarus’ Investigative Committee opened a criminal case of charges of a hoax bomb report.

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