A-50 aircraft damaged after explosion in Machulishchi flies off to Russia for repairs — Belarusian Hajun
Russian A-50 aircraft was damaged (Photo:Maxar Technologies/Handout via Reuters)
A Russian A-50 early warning and control aircraft, which was damaged after an explosion at the Machulishchi airfield in Belarus, has taken off for Russia, the monitoring group Belarusian Hajun reported on Telegram on March 2.
Preliminary reports said the plane is heading to the 325th Aviation Repair Plant in Taganrog.
"OJSC 325 ARZ is an enterprise that, in particular, repairs A-50 aircraft units," Belarusian Hajun noted.
On Feb. 26, explosions were heard at the Belarusian military airfield Machulishchi, which is used by the Russian Air Force. Early reports then said an A-50U early warning and control aircraft was seriously damaged.
Not only A-50U reconnaissance aircraft, but also Russian combat planes regularly take off from this airbase, and when they do they often trigger countrywide air raid warnings. That’s because the MiG-31K aircraft based there can carry missiles that could hit any point in Ukraine.
The head of the Belarusian opposition initiative BYPOL, Alexander Azarov, said that the explosions and damage to the plane were an act of sabotage organized by Belarusian partisans.
BYPOL said that two explosions hit the front and center parts of the plane, damaging its avionics and a radar antenna.
After the attack, Belarusian border guards stepped up checks at border crossing points.
According to the human rights organization Viasna, at least six people were detained after the explosion at the airfield in Belarus.
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