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Reports: Attack on Belarus airfield targets a Russian AWACs plane [1]

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Date: 2023-02-26  

There are reports today that someone (leading candidates are Ukraine and Belarus partisans) attacked the Machulishchy Airbase in Belarus near the capital of Minsk.

The target was reported to be Russia’s version of an AWACs (early warning and battlefield management) plane. Russia doesn’t have a lot of these so if it’s true and the plane has been knocked out of commission it would be significant.

AWACs is an important intelligence gathering tool. Ukraine doesn’t have its own AWACs plane, but it doesn’t need one. NATO has been carrying out almost constant AWACs surveillance of Ukraine, Belarus and the Black Sea.

x Local Media is reporting that at least 2 Explosions were heard today near Machulishchy Airbase in Central Belarus; currently it is not known what caused the Explosions but as a result it’s is said that 1 Russian Transport Aircraft and Snow Removal Equipment was damaged. pic.twitter.com/nB2SpwdrEb — OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) February 26, 2023

x An incident at the Belarus airfield of Machulishchy took place. Coordinates:



53°46'34.29"N, 27°34'52.06"E



According Bypol a Russian A-50 (counterpart of AWACS) was hit by explosive devices and got disabled. Repair will take time. It is claimed that partisans were responsible. pic.twitter.com/qPH0ySzpqY — (((Tendar))) (@Tendar) February 26, 2023

Who carried out the attack is not entirely clear yet.

x Report from "By_Pol" on incident in #Belarus involving a RFAF A-50U AWACS. BYPOL credits "Belarusian Partisans" for the strike. It has merit from a technical perspective but may also support the false flag angle.#OSINT #UkraineRussiaWar #Ukraine pic.twitter.com/fSkZY7t6sS — OSINT (Uri) 🇺🇦 (@UKikaski) February 26, 2023

It has also been reported that the attack was carried out by a Ukrainian drone.

x Update: Confirmed! RFAF A-50U RF-86843 was damaged by an explosive object dropped from a UAV. RUS and neutral Belarusian sources claim the APU conducted the strike. There no confirmation from UA or APU official sources.#OSINT #UkraineRussiaWar #Ukraine pic.twitter.com/uHYuYgUuCk — OSINT (Uri) 🇺🇦 (@UKikaski) February 26, 2023

Here’s a version of the attack that claims Ukrainian drones did it:

x ⚡️Ukrainian sources now have their own story regarding what happened in Belarus.



Lmao, of course this is probably the least likely scenario. pic.twitter.com/9scIaw4RuO — War Monitor (@WarMonitors) February 26, 2023

This report claims the plane was badly damaged.

x “The damage is serious, the aircraft is definitely not flying anywhere anymore. The accident occurred while snowplows were working near the aircraft. [...] Belarusian partisans are consistent in expelling fascists from their land,” BYPOL writes.

2/3 — Belarusian Hajun project (@Hajun_BY) February 26, 2023

The Russian seem to be confused about whether to deny the attack happened or acknowledge it.

x ⚡️This is rather odd because notable Russian sources like WarGonzo confirmed the explosions. pic.twitter.com/hFmq4jPEfW — War Monitor (@WarMonitors) February 26, 2023

This is the plane, which is hopefully a $300 million pile of junk now.

Here’s a Russian AWACs landing in Belarus a year ago.

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/2/26/2155100/-Reports-Attack-on-Belarus-airfield-targets-a-Russian-AWACs-plane

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