Belarusian plant services Russian military helicopters - leak

That’s according to the Center for National Resistance, Ukrinform reports.

"Belarus, which was occupied during the presidency of Aleksandr Lukashenko, has no actorship and takes a direct part in the Kremlin's aggression against our state. However, not all Belarusians enjoy this so local underground activists continue to provide data on the crimes committed by the puppet regime," the report reads.

Thus, thanks to the help from Belarusian partners, the CNR gained access to email correspondence of one of the Belarusian defense engineers, which contained evidence that the 558th Aircraft Repair Plant in Baranovichi executes major repairs and modifications for Russian Mi-8 and Mi-17 helicopters.

In addition, the plant in Baranovichi is developing the LMS-192 light multi-purpose aircraft jointly with the Russians. It is planned to increase Belarus’s contribution to the project up to 50% of the total funding.

In the internal correspondence obtained by the CNR, there is a plenty of information regarding difficulties with the manufacture of spare parts, caused by a lack of equipment.

Also, representatives from the Russian defense industry complain about the impossibility of purchasing machines manufactured in the UK due to sanctions.

As an alternative, the Russians offer to purchase machines manufactured by the Taiwanese company E-tech Machinery.

In addition, despite direct participation in Russian aggression against Ukraine, key employees of 558 ARP use their Belarusian citizenship to travel across Europe.

There is evidence that the chief designer at 558 ARP, Igor Antsiferov, left for Germany along with his wife and daughter in 2023 to celebrate the New Year in Saxony.

According to the CNR, the entire Antsiferov family has dual Russian-Belarusian citizenship.

"It is rather convenient to travel to Europe for the New Year holidays holding a Belarusian passport," the Center emphasized.

The CNR thanked the Belarusian underground for the information provided.

As reported by Ukrinform, in June, the Council of the European Union adopted a new package of sanctions against Belarus over its participation in Russia's war against Ukraine. The restrictions target trade, services, and transport.