MOSCOW, September 8. /TASS/. The Kremlin pointed towards foreign traces in the situation concerning the apprehension of 33 Russian citizens in Minsk in 2020, spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists Wednesday, adding that the recent reports of the US media once again confirm this indirectly.

"You remember, probably, that even back then we were saying that there were traces of foreign intelligence there. Even as these events unfolded. In this case, this is yet another, indirect confirmation that these traces are not hidden too deep," the spokesman said.

When asked whether Russia will present any new evidence, Peskov said he is "unaware about it."

Earlier, CNN reported citing a source in Ukrainian intelligence that the CIA assisted Ukrainian authorities in the operation that led to the apprehension of 33 Russian citizens on Belarusian territory last year.

The incident

In late 2020, Belarus apprehended 33 Russian citizens, whom Minsk called employees of the "Wagner private military company." They were arrested later. Kiev authorities claimed that 28 people out of 33 took part in the Donbass conflict and demanded their extradition.

Russia viewed the apprehension of its citizens as "not corresponding to the allied relations between Moscow and Minsk," calling the allegations against them just speculation. On August 14, Belarus extradited 32 detainees to Russia. One person who also had Belarusian citizenship stayed in the republic.

On August 27, 2020, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that the apprehension of Russian citizens was a result of a provocation of "Ukrainian intelligence services in cooperation with American ones."