Image credit: The TV channel Belarus One.
MINSK, 19 September (BelTA) – The plan to seize power in 2021 was a classic military coup and envisaged the blocking of Minsk and the town of Ostroshitsky Gorodok. One of the conspirators Yuri Zenkovich revealed it as part of the film “Murderous conspiracy. Target: Lukashenko” aired by the TV channel Belarus One, BelTA has learned. Yuri Zenkovich was sentenced to 11 years in prison in September 2022.
Yuri Zenkovich confirmed that he and other conspirators definitely intended to kill the Belarus president in 2021. “Due to circumstances we’ve failed. And three of our people went to prison,” he said.
Speaking about the plan for the coup d’etat, Yuri Zenkovich described it as a classic coup: “During discussions we often recalled Augusto Pinochet’s coup in Chile when generals seize power and install a military government.”
The plan for a military coup in Belarus was supposed to proceed along these lines. Mutinous army units were supposed to leave their permanent stations before the dawn. Some forces were designated for blocking Minsk in order to keep reinforcements away. A tank battalion was supposed to reach the town of Ostroshitsky Gorodok, block it, and take all the people captives. Deadly force was authorized to quell any resistance.
“We had information that the head of state spends most of the time in Ostroshitsky Gorodok. Apart from that, we assumed that he may keep a stash of money over there for use in emergencies. And we needed money to pay the military. This is why capturing Ostroshitsky Gorodok was of sufficiently fundamental importance for us because we needed the money to pay the military,” Yuri Zenkovich explained.
Other forces were supposed to advance towards the center of Minsk, capture the president’s residence and the main mass media. In particular, units were designated to capture buildings in Kommunisticheskaya Street and Makayonka Street. “They had to capture them so that representatives of the junta could address the nation, the population with a very simple message: the military has seized the power, everyone has to stay calm and keep doing their jobs. Those, who disobey, will have to deal with the army. Respectively they will be arrested. If they resist with weapons, they will be eliminated on site,” Yuri Zenkovich added.
In his words, Igor Makar, one of the people implicated in the case of the attempt to seize power, was looking for a house to buy in Gomel Oblast. He intended to keep hostages in the basement during negotiations if the situation went south. “In particular, the name of Nikolai Lukashenko was mentioned. He was also supposed to be kept in this house. And he was supposed to be used to make a deal, for negotiations, talks, and pressure,” Yuri Zenkovich stated.
The conspirators evaluated all the options and expected blood to be spilled in any case, Yuri Zenkovich stated. “From our point of view, a military coup was the only chance to correct the errors committed by [the presidential candidate Svetlana] Tikhanovskaya and her people,” he concluded.
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