Image credit: The TV channel Belarus One.
MINSK, 19 September (BelTA) – Conspirators, who wanted to seize power in Belarus, looked for money in Ukraine, Israel, and the USA. 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.
Asked about how much the elimination of the Belarus president would cost, Yuri Zenkovich mentioned a sum of about $10 million. “It seems to me it is quite a realistic sum. It could definitely fit within this budget,” he said.
In his words, the money was supposed to be split approximately evenly between the military, radical groups, and armed militants, who were in Belarus. The latter were supposed to get about $3 million. Another $1 million was put aside in case of unforeseen expenses.
“So-called PR support was an important part of these expenses. Support by spreading information on the Internet, by preparing the public opinion for some radical change, for an unexpected change of government in Belarus,” Yuri Zenkovich explained. “It required money, too. PR specialists, propagandists, bloggers, and so on needed to be paid.”
The conspirators were trying to raise the funds in Ukraine, Israel, and the United States of America. Cost estimates were put together and handed over to Aleksandr Perepechko, one of the conspirators. He compiled an application and sent it to a corporation of the military-industrial complex of the United States of America. Apart from that, the conspirators were looking for military personnel, who could help compile the operational plans for the operation meant to seize the power.
“I was in negotiations with Igor Kolomoisky. We believed that this Ukrainian oligarch, who invests in various risky projects, could participate in such a project,” Yuri Zenkovich explained. “Dmitry Shchigelsky was in negotiations with Israel. Among other things he was looking for those capable of making operational plans. He reached out to former military personnel of the Israeli army for that.”
Asked how the conspirators intended to pay back their backers, Yuri Zenkovich stated that Aleksandr Perepechko had mentioned state property as collateral. “If the power grab was successful, then the backers would receive their payment by means of privatization of state-run enterprises and the transfer of control over them to foreigners,” he said.
Yuri Zenkovich handed over the first part of the money for the military to an officer he met with in Grodno. Later on Yuri Zenkovich’s acquaintances left money in stashes. They did not know what the money was intended for. Coordinates of the stashes were passed on to the officer, who would pick up the money. As some of the locations Yuri Zenkovich mentioned a forest in Kuropaty and a graveyard in Pukhovichi District. “As far as I remember, there were seven or eight stashes,” he added.
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