Prisoner exchange between Russia and Ukraine: Belarus exchanged saboteur for metropolitan

Minsk has exchanged Nikolai Shvets, a saboteur who took part in the explosion of a Russian military plane at the Machulishchi military airfield. This was announced by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.

According to the politician, he learned about the situation when the disappearance of the prisoner was noticed by the opposition that had emigrated from the country.

He called such an exchange correct, since the saboteur could have been sentenced to 10-15 years, “he would have been sitting here eating our potatoes with lard.”

Saboteur exchanged for priest at Putin’s request

The head of state specified that Shvets was exchanged for Metropolitan Ionafan, the exchange was organized at the request of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The exchange of military personnel between Moscow and Kiev took place recently.

No clergymen were involved. It was a request from Russian President Vladimir Putin: if possible, help free the famous clergyman Jonathan

Alexander Lukashenko President of Belarus

The Belarusian leader also said that he discussed this issue with his Russian counterpart after the Ukrainian side’s appeal.

I say to Putin: “What are we going to do? Your decision?” That’s why we gave this man to Ukraine, they gave us the priest

Alexander Lukashenko President of Belarus

The politician added that he asked Kyiv to transfer seriously wounded Russian prisoners of war to Belarus. The Belarusian side received three Russians in the Brest region and transferred them to Russia in the Gomel region.

On June 22, it was reported that Patriarch Kirill, through a petition, secured freedom for Metropolitan Jonathan of Tulchin and Bratslav (Yeletskikh, Ukrainian Orthodox Church), who had been convicted in Ukraine and had previously been sentenced to five years. It was noted that the cleric needed treatment.

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has brought charges against the Metropolitan of the canonical UOC in the Vinnytsia region for inciting religious hatred and insulting the feelings of citizens in connection with their religious beliefs. A month before this, the priest’s home was searched. At that time, Jonathan denied his guilt.

What is known about the arrest of the saboteur?

On March 7, 2023, Lukashenko announced the detention of a person involved in the sabotage against the Russian A-50 airborne early warning and control aircraft at the Machulishchi airfield.

He specified that the man, an IT specialist, was recruited by the Security Service of Ukraine in 2014. According to him, the detainee has Russian and Ukrainian passports. The politician emphasized that the operation to destroy the Russian plane was developed in Kyiv jointly with the US Central Intelligence Agency.

However, the official representative of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, Oleg Nikolenko, rejected accusations of the involvement of Ukrainian special services in the attack. And the adviser to the head of the Ukrainian President’s Office, Mykhailo Podolyak, stated that the sabotage was carried out by “local partisans.”

Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs, Chief of the Criminal Police of Belarus Gennady Kazakevich told the details of the detention of Nikolai Shvets. First of all, the area where the crime was committed was blocked: the airport and the nearby settlement.

The commander of the special rapid response unit of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Belarus, Alexander Bykov, added that later the location from which the suspect probably launched the drones was established.

In addition, Belarusian law enforcement officers established how Shvets entered Belarus, with whom he contacted, where he stayed and what cars he traveled in.