Three men, two Poles and a Belarusian national, remain in jail after the KGB counterintelligence service accused them of espionage and giving away Russian military information
A pair of Polish citizens have been detained in Belarus, accused of espionage.
The KGB counterintelligence service of Belarus claims the two Poles were acting on Polish intelligence orders, trying to uncover Russian military secrets, chiefly where Vladimir Putin has hidden his nuclear weapons in the allied territory.
Russian intelligence also believed they had caught a traitor, a Belarusian military officer, who had been recruited by the Polish special services and who was prepared to part with secret information for cash, reports MKRU. Belarus 1 TV broadcasted a propaganda film featuring the three men, which claimed they had been working together for more than 10 years, reports Belsat.
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They have been identified as Polish citizens Tomasz Beraza and Jerzy Żywolewski, and Belarusian citizen Dzmitry Paznyakou.
Russian military expert Vasily Dandykin said: “It is obvious that they are not looking for potatoes or cracklings there.
“They are interested in the military component – what is where, including our cooperation with Belarus. Data on the ground, so to speak.
He added that Polish intelligence is aware of the allegiance between Russia and Belarus, and claimed that Belorussiaphobia and Russophobia are “off the chart”, to explain why Poland ships spies off across the border.
Dandykin continued: “It is known that we have deployed nuclear weapons on the territory of Belarus, transferred Iskander missile systems and much more. They are very concerned about this, which is why they have deployed an entire division at the border.
The alleged spies and traitors have been taken to prison, where they could face long jail time or harsh punishment. Glosglosznadniemna reports Beraza has already been sentenced to 14 years in a penal colony, following a trial that took place behind closed doors. Jerzy has been sentenced to four years. MKRU reports that while Belarus hasn’t abolished the death penalty, the alleged Polish spies could benefit from an exchange deal.