Nikolay Vladimirovich Shwets

On the morning of February 26, 2023, in the vicinity of the military airfield of the 50th mixed base of the Belarusian Air Force in Machulishchi (Minsk region), local residents heard several explosions. According to BYPOL, they were the result of an attack by a drone of "Belarusian partisans" on a Russian military airborne early warning and control aircraft (AEW&C) A-50. On March 7, 2023, Lukashenko confirmed the information that the aircraft was in Russia, as well as the fact of the attack in Machulishchi. On the same day , the authorities reported that a Ukrainian citizen, Nikolai Shvets, was detained in this case, as alleged, and was named as the perpetrator of the sabotage. Later, state TV channels released an "investigation" about him. Before the sabotage, the man lived in Minsk for a month. At the end of June 2024, Minsk handed over Nikolai Shvets to Ukraine, who was accused of blowing up a military aircraft in the village of Machulishchi.