was detained as part of a criminal case that the KGB opened on the fact of an “attempt to commit an act of terrorism” in Machulishchi.
The main defendant in the case and, as the official bodies and propagandists claimed, the perpetrator of the sabotage, Nikolai Shvets, was released in June in a prisoner exchange with Ukraine. But despite this, the case is still on trial and his accomplices in Belarus face long prison terms. Shvets himself is also being tried in absentia.
Thus, in the dock are Maksim Lopatin, Andrey Stepurko, Oleg Sychev and his wife Anastasia Pilko, Denis Sokolov. According to the ONT propaganda film, all of them were assistants in the case, but they did not know exactly who Shvets was and what exactly he needed help with. Thus, Maksim Lopatin gave Shvets a ride from Stolin to the Logoisk highway, Andrey Stepurko helped him find an apartment near Minsk, Oleg Sychev and Anastasia Pilko rented him that very apartment. And Denis Sokolov, who turned out to be a friend of Irina Abelskaya's son and an alleged informer, as Nasha Niva writes , allegedly helped deliver the drone and find a job for Nikolai Shvets.
Trial outcome 03.10.2024: unknown years of imprisonment in colony under enhanced security conditions.
Andrey Stepurko is 33 years old. The man graduated from the Radio Engineering College, and then «MITSO» International University. He worked as a software engineer in a polyclinic, a computer assembler, a computer operator, a sales consultant. It is known that he is fond of practical shooting, engaged in laser tag and other types of shooting games.
As far as we know, the man was detained in the case of the explosion of the plane in Machulishchi. He allegedly found an apartment for the alleged perpetrator of the sabotage in Machulishchi Nikolai Shvets.
Stepurko's parents and his brother were also detained.
Trial outcome 03.10.2024: unknown years of imprisonment in colony under enhanced security conditions.
47 year old Oleg was born in Krasnoyarsk, but in 2000 he moved to Belarus and has already received citizenship.
In the film on the ONT TV channel, they showed how the Ukrainian terrorist Nikolai Shvets was detained on March 4 at Oleg's house in the «Berezovaya Roshcha» garden association in the village of Chertyazh (Borovlyansky Village Council).
Sychev with his wife Nastya Pilko was detained by law enforcement officers on March 3 in the same house.
According to human rights activists, both of them are now in the pre-trial detention center of the State Security Committee.
The detained couple has two juvenile children who are now with their grandmother.
Trial outcome 03.10.2024: 9 years of imprisonment in colony under general regime conditions.
Dmitry Mostovoy is 45 years old. He is a resident of Sinitsa, studied at the Polytechnic College in Minsk, a professional programmer.
He was detained during the protests in October 2020, and he was sentenced to several days of arrest.
Dmitry was detained in early March 2023. In the film «Gaspar did not get in touch» on the ONT TV channel, released on April 05, 2023. It was said in the film that Dmitry offered the telegram chat «Belarusian Gayun» to merge information about the airfield in Machulishchi: he set up an online broadcast from a computer, where all the actions taking place at the airfield for two weeks without a break were shown.
Now the man is in jail on charges of treason to the state and facilitation extremist activities.
10 years in prison.
Detained together with his wife in the case of sabotage in Machulishchi.
Human rights activists received information that on March 3, Maxim Lopatin was detained by employees of the State Security Committee in the case of sabotage in Machulishchi. The man is being held in the pre-trial detention center of the State Security Committee.
Lopatin was severely beaten during the arrest. A film was released on ONT, which tells about some high-profile detentions, including the mention of Maxim. Allegedly his friend is a psychotherapist Evgenia Tochinskaya, who lives in Poland, asked to bring a Ukrainian agent Shvets from Stolin to the Lagoy highway on February 27.
The video shows that the man has dentures on his jaw, which may mean that it was broken. After splinting, there should be a serious stage of rehabilitation with eating and drinking water through a tube.
On March 23, Maxim's wife, Lyudmila Lopatina, was also detained.
The couple has two juvenile children.
Trial outcome 03.10.2024: 8 years of imprisonment in colony under enhanced security conditions, 1000 basic values fine.
On the morning of February 26, 2023, explosions occurred at the Machulishchi airfield near a Russian long-range reconnaissance aircraft DRLV A-50, it was blown up in two places. It was used to guide Russian missiles to targets in Ukraine. It was reported that the aircraft is currently undergoing repairs at the 325th aircraft repair plant, which is part of the Beriev Taganrog Aviation Scientific and Technical Complex in Russia.
The main defendant in the case and, as official bodies and propagandists claimed , the perpetrator of the sabotage, Nikolai Shvets, was released in June in a prisoner exchange with Ukraine.
Nikolai Shvets, Alexander Azarov, Alla Yatsuta, Vitaly Yakutik, Evgenia Tochitskaya, Mikhail Demin and Sergei Loparov were tried in absentia.
Trial outcome 03.10.2024: 6 years of imprisonment in colony under general regime conditions (trial in absentia).
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.
Trial outcome 03.10.2024: 25 years of imprisonment in colony under enhanced security conditions, 1000 basic values fine (trial in absentia).
On the morning of February 26, 2023, explosions occurred at the Russian long-range reconnaissance aircraft DRLV A-50 at the Machulishchi airfield, it was blown up in two places. It was used to guide Russian missiles to targets in Ukraine. It was reported that the aircraft is currently undergoing repairs at the 325th aircraft repair plant, which is part of the Beriev Taganrog Aviation Scientific and Technical Complex in Russia.
The main defendant in the case and, as official bodies and propagandists claimed , the perpetrator of the sabotage, Nikolai Shvets, was released in June in a prisoner exchange with Ukraine.
Nikolai Shvets, Alexander Azarov, Alla Yatsuta , Vitaly Yakutik, Evgenia Tochitskaya, Mikhail Demin and Sergei Loparov were tried in absentia.
Trial outcome 03.10.2024: 25 years of imprisonment in colony under enhanced security conditions, 1000 basic values fine (trial in absentia).
On the morning of February 26, 2023, explosions occurred at the Machulishchi airfield near a Russian long-range reconnaissance aircraft DRLV A-50, it was blown up in two places. It was used to guide Russian missiles to targets in Ukraine. It was reported that the aircraft is currently undergoing repairs at the 325th aircraft repair plant, which is part of the Beriev Taganrog Aviation Scientific and Technical Complex in Russia.
The main defendant in the case and, as official bodies and propagandists claimed , the perpetrator of the sabotage, Nikolai Shvets, was released in June in a prisoner exchange with Ukraine.
Nikolai Shvets, Alexander Azarov, Alla Yatsuta, Vitaly Yakutik, Evgenia Tochitskaya, Mikhail Demin and Sergei Loparev were tried in absentia.
Trial outcome 03.10.2024: 15 years of imprisonment in colony under general regime conditions, 1000 basic values fine (trial in absentia).
On the morning of February 26, 2023, explosions occurred at the Russian long-range reconnaissance aircraft DRLV A-50 at the Machulishchi airfield, it was blown up in two places. It was used to guide Russian missiles to targets in Ukraine. It was reported that the aircraft is currently undergoing repairs at the 325th aircraft repair plant, which is part of the Beriev Taganrog Aviation Scientific and Technical Complex in Russia.
The main defendant in the case and, as official bodies and propagandists claimed , the perpetrator of the sabotage, Nikolai Shvets, was released in June in a prisoner exchange with Ukraine.
Nikolai Shvets, Alexander Azarov, Alla Yatsuta, Vitaly Yakutik, Evgenia Tochitskaya, Mikhail Demin and Sergei Loparov were tried in absentia.
Trial outcome 03.10.2024: 15 years of imprisonment in colony under enhanced security conditions, 1000 basic values fine (trial in absentia).
On the morning of February 26, 2023, explosions occurred at the Machulishchi airfield near a Russian long-range reconnaissance aircraft DRLV A-50, it was blown up in two places. It was used to guide Russian missiles to targets in Ukraine. It was reported that the aircraft is currently undergoing repairs at the 325th aircraft repair plant, which is part of the Beriev Taganrog Aviation Scientific and Technical Complex in Russia.
The main defendant in the case and, as official bodies and propagandists claimed , the perpetrator of the sabotage, Nikolai Shvets, was released in June in a prisoner exchange with Ukraine.
Nikolai Shvets, Alexander Azarov, Alla Yatsuta, Vitaly Yakutik, Evgenia Tochitskaya , Mikhail Demin and Sergei Loparov were tried in absentia.
Trial outcome 03.10.2024: 15 years of imprisonment in colony under general regime conditions, 1000 basic values fine (trial in absentia).
A person involved in a criminal case that the KGB opened on the fact of an “attempt to commit an act of terrorism” in Machulishchi. It is known that he is the brother of Andrei Stepurko, through whom they allegedly found an apartment for the alleged sabotage artist Nikolai Shvets. He was accused under Art. 289 (act of terrorism) of the Criminal Code.
In December 2023, he was released and is under signature as a witness.
A defendant in a criminal case that the KGB opened on the fact of an “attempt to commit an act of terrorism” in Machulishchi. Allegedly, they found her apartment, which was rented to the alleged perpetrator of “sabotage” Nikolai Shvets. She was detained together with her husband Alexander Kuchinsky. She was accused under Art . 289 (act of terrorism) of the Criminal Code.
A person involved in a criminal case that the KGB opened on the fact of an “attempt to commit an act of terrorism” in Machulishchi. Allegedly, his wife Larisa had an apartment that was rented to the alleged perpetrator of the sabotage, Nikolai Shvets. Detained along with his wife. He was accused of fasting. 289 (act of terrorism) of the Criminal Code.
41 year old Anastasia has worked a lot of places, but the last known place of work is the director of the printing house of LLC «Electronic Agent».
The film on the ONT TV channel showed how the Ukrainian terrorist Nikolai Shvets was detained on March 4 in the house of Nastya and her husband Oleg Sychev in the garden association «Berezovaya Roshcha» in the village of Chertyazh (Borovlyansky Village Council).
Nastya and her husband were detained by law enforcement officers on March 3 in the same house.
According to human rights activists, both of them are now in the pre-trial detention center of the State Security Committee.
The detained couple has two juvenile children who are now with their grandmother.
Trial outcome 03.10.2024: 2 years 3 months of imprisonment in colony under general regime conditions.
To ensure that none of political prisoners are left without attention and support the site has a function of verified sendings.
Please attach a photo or a screenshot for transfer verification. The new transfer will be posted on the site as soon as it is verified by the moderator!
You can upload an image from the support event, and after passing moderation we will publish it.
Do you want to help a released political prisoner? Send your contact to Telegram and we will contact you.
In view of the critical human rights situation in Belarus and the violation of fundamental articles of the UDHR, the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and other international instruments.
A Keeper means you want to regularly help a specific person in prison through their family. Choose a political prisoner and click «Become a Keeper», our team will contact you shortly.
You can request the letters that we have in storage, for this, leave your telegram account for feedback, we will contact you and, after verifying your identity, we will transfer the archive with your letters.
Briefly write the most critical information.
Please leave your contact in Telegram.
Are you a relative or someone close to a political prisoner? Send us a short description and your Telegram contact for feedback. After data verification we will publish your relative on the website.
Do you have information about administrative prosecution? Please send us a short description and your Telegram contact for feedback. After checking the data, we will publish your information on the site.
Please leave your Telegram contact and ad description. After moderation your ad will be published on the site.
Please leave your contact on Telegram and describe your skills in as much detail as possible. After moderation, your CV will be published on the website.
The answer will appear on the website if such a question has not been asked before. Please read the section before you ask your question.
Are you a representative of an organization or initiative and would like to support our statement? Just fill out the contact form below.
Multi upload allows you to send confirmations with one photo to several political prisoners at once, check the selected people before sending!
Please attach a photo or a screenshot for transfer verification. The new transfer will be posted on the site as soon as it is verified by the moderator!
Please complete the questionnaire to enter the first stage of an interview to determine your individual needs.