Dmitry Gordon: Minsk is ready to extradite detained Russians to Kiev

President Lukashenko, according to Gordon, told him about his readiness to extradite to Ukraine some of the Russians detained in Belarus on July 29 during an interview. The security committee of Belarus believes that the detainees are militants of the private military company Wagner.

“He said that Zelensky asked him to transfer to Ukraine those who participated in the battles in Donbass against Ukraine, including Ukrainians. He said that the green light will be given to the prosecutor's office and other law enforcement agencies of Belarus, which, in accordance with Belarusian laws, will do everything necessary to transfer the guilty to both Russia and Ukraine", - Kommersant quotes Gordon as saying.

A telephone conversation between the presidents of Belarus and Ukraine, Alexander Lukashenko and Vladimir Zelensky, took place on August 5. One of the key points in the conversation between the heads of state was the possibility of extraditing Russians detained in Belarus.

According to the Ukrainian side, among the detainees were participants in the conflict in Donbass. Ukraine suspects 28 out of 33 Russians of terrorism. On July 30, the Security Service of Ukraine addressed the Prosecutor General with a petition for the extradition of the Wagner PMC militants in Belarus.

Earlier, the Belarusian media reported that “32 militants of the foreign private company Wagner” were detained near Minsk and another one in the south of the country.

The Russian Ambassador to Belarus Dmitry Mezentsev said that the detained Russians were traveling through the republic in transit. However, President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko issued a statement that some external forces intend to destabilize the situation in the republic on the eve of the elections, while he mentioned foreign private military companies as possible organizers of the riots.