MINSK, July 30. /TASS/. Belarusian intelligence tipped Poland off about a terror attack plotted on its soil targeting opposition figure Svetlana Tikhanovskaya’s children, according to Roman Protasevich, a former operative of Belarus’ State Security Committee (KGB).
On July 23, the Belarusian Foreign Ministry said Warsaw had been informed about preparations for a terrorist attack in Poland. The Polish Foreign Ministry said it was reviewing the information.
"It turns out that the attack was supposed to target Svetlana Tikhanovskaya’s underage children. The attack was being planned by former journalist Denis Dashkevich, who had long dreamed of staging some radical incident," Protasevich wrote on Telegram. According to him, Dashkevich intended to have Tikhanovskaya’s children killed by Ukrainian hands, "then "make a public political statement and commit suicide.
Dashkevich decided to take such action after Polish authorities "officially designated him as a national security threat and launched a deportation process," while Tikhanovskaya and members of her inner circle refused to help him, Protasevich added.
"Dashkevich lost his nerve, and infighting among exiled figures over grants escalated into terrorism. The greatest paradox is that the information that helped save Tikhanovskaya’s children was provided to Warsaw by Minsk. Belarus made it clear that humanism and children’s lives stood above geopolitical grievances. Warsaw is now at an impasse because its decision to provide shelter to destructive elements has led to an increase in domestic threats," Protasevich said.