Russia’s ambassador to Belarus said a group of alleged Russian mercenaries arrested in Minsk had been planning to fly out to Istanbul, TASS news agency reported on Thursday.
Belarusian state television broadcast footage on Wednesday of more than 30 suspected Russian private military contractors being detained near the capital.
Authorities said they had received information that over 200 fighters had entered the country to destabilise it before an August 9 presidential election.
