٠٠:٠٠:٥٤Mandatory courtesy - The State Border Service of Belarus
Footage released by the State Border Service of Belarus shows a vehicle said to be carrying representatives of the Belarus opposition movement, Maria Kolesnikova, Anton Rodnenkov, and Ivan Kravtsov, crossing the Belarus-Ukraine border on Tuesday night. Please note, the identity of the passengers of the vehicle shown in the footage has not been verified. A BMW can be seen heading towards a border checkpoint, where the documents of the passengers are then checked. After that, the car drives on.
According to the press secretary of the Border Service of Belarus, Anton Bychkovky, the vehicle passed border control at the Alexandrovka checkpoint at around 4 a.m., after which an incident occurred, resulting in Kolesnikova being detained.
Bychkovky said that there is a settlement between the checkpoint and the state border, and there are squads controlling this area. The Border Service representative said that after noticing such a squad the vehicle reportedly increased its speed and posed a threat to the life of a member of the military. According to Bychkovky, at that moment Kolesnikova was "pushed out of the vehicle". He said that her health is fine and that there is no need of medical assistance.
The incumbent president of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, commented on the situation during an interview with Russian journalists. He said that Kolesnikova had attempted to cross the Belarusian border into Ukraine with two other men. He said that she and her group were detained on the Ukrainian side of the frontier. “[They passed] across the border, through the Ukrainian border guard office; as far as I am now informed, they were detained. And we are negotiating with them to get them back to us,” Lukashenko added.
Kolosnikova's associate Pavel Latushko has said that Kolesnikova had been forced to leave Belarus, and that she tore up her passport at the border, in a move media reports have described as an attempt to avoid deportation. A statement from an opposition representative and media reports say she had initially been kidnapped in Minsk.
Belarus: Border Service footage purportedly shows car of Belarusian opposition members at checkpoint
Footage released by the State Border Service of Belarus shows a vehicle said to be carrying representatives of the Belarus opposition movement, Maria Kolesnikova, Anton Rodnenkov, and Ivan Kravtsov, crossing the Belarus-Ukraine border on Tuesday night. Please note, the identity of the passengers of the vehicle shown in the footage has not been verified. A BMW can be seen heading towards a border checkpoint, where the documents of the passengers are then checked. After that, the car drives on.
According to the press secretary of the Border Service of Belarus, Anton Bychkovky, the vehicle passed border control at the Alexandrovka checkpoint at around 4 a.m., after which an incident occurred, resulting in Kolesnikova being detained.
Bychkovky said that there is a settlement between the checkpoint and the state border, and there are squads controlling this area. The Border Service representative said that after noticing such a squad the vehicle reportedly increased its speed and posed a threat to the life of a member of the military. According to Bychkovky, at that moment Kolesnikova was "pushed out of the vehicle". He said that her health is fine and that there is no need of medical assistance.
The incumbent president of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, commented on the situation during an interview with Russian journalists. He said that Kolesnikova had attempted to cross the Belarusian border into Ukraine with two other men. He said that she and her group were detained on the Ukrainian side of the frontier. “[They passed] across the border, through the Ukrainian border guard office; as far as I am now informed, they were detained. And we are negotiating with them to get them back to us,” Lukashenko added.
Kolosnikova's associate Pavel Latushko has said that Kolesnikova had been forced to leave Belarus, and that she tore up her passport at the border, in a move media reports have described as an attempt to avoid deportation. A statement from an opposition representative and media reports say she had initially been kidnapped in Minsk.
Mandatory courtesy - The State Border Service of Belarus
Footage released by the State Border Service of Belarus shows a vehicle said to be carrying representatives of the Belarus opposition movement, Maria Kolesnikova, Anton Rodnenkov, and Ivan Kravtsov, crossing the Belarus-Ukraine border on Tuesday night. Please note, the identity of the passengers of the vehicle shown in the footage has not been verified. A BMW can be seen heading towards a border checkpoint, where the documents of the passengers are then checked. After that, the car drives on.
According to the press secretary of the Border Service of Belarus, Anton Bychkovky, the vehicle passed border control at the Alexandrovka checkpoint at around 4 a.m., after which an incident occurred, resulting in Kolesnikova being detained.
Bychkovky said that there is a settlement between the checkpoint and the state border, and there are squads controlling this area. The Border Service representative said that after noticing such a squad the vehicle reportedly increased its speed and posed a threat to the life of a member of the military. According to Bychkovky, at that moment Kolesnikova was "pushed out of the vehicle". He said that her health is fine and that there is no need of medical assistance.
The incumbent president of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, commented on the situation during an interview with Russian journalists. He said that Kolesnikova had attempted to cross the Belarusian border into Ukraine with two other men. He said that she and her group were detained on the Ukrainian side of the frontier. “[They passed] across the border, through the Ukrainian border guard office; as far as I am now informed, they were detained. And we are negotiating with them to get them back to us,” Lukashenko added.
Kolosnikova's associate Pavel Latushko has said that Kolesnikova had been forced to leave Belarus, and that she tore up her passport at the border, in a move media reports have described as an attempt to avoid deportation. A statement from an opposition representative and media reports say she had initially been kidnapped in Minsk.