Belarusian aircraft shot at stray Russian drone for first time, monitoring group says
A Belarusian fighter jet attempted to down a Russian Shahed-type drone that flew into Belarus' airspace during an overnight attack against Ukraine on Aug. 29, the Belarusian Hajun monitoring group said.
The Kyiv Independent could not immediately verify the claim.
While Russian attack drones have reportedly veered off course toward Belarus during air raids on Ukraine on multiple occasions, this would be the first known case of a Belarusian Air Force plane attempting to shoot one of them down.
According to Belarusian Hajun, the drone flew into the Yelsk district of the Homel region at around 3:30 a.m. local time. After it entered the Belarusian airspace, a scrambled jet pursued it for roughly 20 minutes.
At least two explosions could be heard in the Yelsk district at around 3:55 a.m., and a bright flash was visible in the sky, the monitoring group said.
"This is probably the first recorded case when a fighter jet of the Belarusian Air Force attempted to destroy a real military target in the sky," Belarusian Hajun wrote.
The monitoring group did not specify the ultimate fate of the drone or whether its wreckage had been discovered.
❗️Aviation was used for the first time in Belarus to shoot down a Shahed drone
— Belarusian Hajun project (@Hajun_BY) August 29, 2024
According to @Hajun_BY, last night, during another Russian attack against Ukraine, one of the Shahed drones again flew into the territory of Belarus in Yelsk district. It happened at 03:30.
1/3 pic.twitter.com/QwfqEvR4rI
The Belarusian Defense Ministry has not commented on the alleged incident.
According to Belarusian Hajun, there have been multiple cases of Russian Shahed-type drones flying off course to Belarus over the past weeks. At least six Russian drones reportedly entered the Belarusian airspace during a recent mass attack on Ukraine on Aug. 26.
Minsk has never publicly raised objections to Moscow – its key ally – over the reported incidents.
Instead, Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko alleged that his country's forces downed several Ukrainian drones over its airspace, a claim denied by Belarusian Hajun.
The statement came amid surging tensions between Belarus and Ukraine as the Belarusian military moved a significant force to the border, allegedly for exercises.
While supporting Russian aggression against Kyiv, the Belarusian Armed Forces have not taken a direct part in the war.
Dmytro Basmat
