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Three Shahed drones cross into Belarus while Lukashenko midair in helicopter

• 1 min read
Three Shahed drones cross into Belarus while Lukashenko midair in helicopter
An Iranian-made Shahed 131/136 kamikaze drone, a model often used by Russian forces in airstrikes against Ukraine in an undated photo. For illustrative purposes. (Ukraine's Southern Operational Command/Telegram)

Three Shahed drones flew into Belarusian airspace on Oct. 3 as Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko was traveling by helicopter over the country, according to the monitoring group Belaruski Hajun.

The drones, which flew from Ukraine's Chernihiv Oblast, were spotted flying toward Belarus' Gomel Oblast.

Two drones passed over Novaya Guta, heading for Gomel, while another flew over Loyew, also in the Gomel region.

Lukashenko's helicopter was reportedly flying south from his Ozerny residence at the same time.

Earlier that day, Ukraine issued an air-raid warning for northern regions due to the threat of Russian Shahed drone attacks.

The Kyiv Independent could not immediately verify the claims made by the monitoring group.

This incident comes about a month after the Belarusian Air Force shot down Shahed-type drones over its airspace for the first time, on Sept. 5.

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Sonya Bandouil

North American news editor

Sonya Bandouil is a North American news editor for The Kyiv Independent. She previously worked in the fields of cybersecurity and translating, and she also edited for various journals in NYC. Sonya has a Master’s degree in Global Affairs from New York University, and a Bachelor’s degree in Music from the University of Houston, in Texas.

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