MINSK, 1 July (BelTA) – The State Security Committee of Belarus (KGB) conducted a multi-stage special operation called "Harpoon", which disrupted plans for an attack on Belarus using strike drones, BelTA learned from the ONT TV Channel.
The operation, which lasted 732 days, was aimed at extracting from abroad the organizer of a group that was preparing to launch drone strikes against strategic sites in Belarus. These targets included the Belarusian Nuclear Power Plant in Ostrovets.
The operation, which lasted 732 days, was aimed at extracting from abroad the organizer of a group that was preparing to launch drone strikes against strategic sites in Belarus. These targets included the Belarusian Nuclear Power Plant in Ostrovets.
Thanks to the operation, Pavel Belyutin, the organizer, was brought back from abroad. Born in Minsk in 1977, a former entrepreneur and sports enthusiast, he gradually adopted radical views. In 2016, he joined the Solidarnost movement, led by Nikolai Avtukhovich, who has been involved in several criminal cases. After the 2020 presidential election, a group of 12 individuals associated with Avtukhovich were detained with weapons and explosives. Pavel Belyutin was implicated in that case. Following Avtukhovich's arrest, Pavel Belyutin left the country.
In 2020, he took part in illegal demonstrations and posted threats and insults online directed at government officials and law enforcement. Criminal charges were filed against him for these actions.
Pavel Belyutin fled to Lithuania, where he quickly joined the Vilnius group known as "Litviny". Similar groups were formed to attack Belarus. All of these groups in Lithuania and Poland were united under "Paspalitaye Rushenne", a center that coordinated actions, maintained communication with militants, and provided combat training. Special attention was paid to learning how to use combat drones. For this purpose, a separate chat called "Liudzi na balote" (People in the Swamp) was created, and Pavel Belyutin joined it. This group included individuals who were involved in aggressive extremist activities during 2020 and later fled abroad. Some of them had fought as mercenaries in Ukraine and shared their skills with members of the Vilnius group. Their desire to take revenge against the "Belarusian regime" was so strong that in one of the chats they started not only discussing the use of strike drones, but also actively preparing them.
One of the former opposition activists, Olga Tyshkevich, recalled the situation as follows: "Pasha [Pavel Belyutin] said they wanted to attack Belarus. Their goal was to destroy Belarus' energy resources, including the nuclear power plant. He said the aim was to cut off power to Belarus. They purchased more than 20 drones. I asked him, 'Are you crazy? Do you want to launch a strike on Belarus from Lithuania?'”
One of the former opposition activists, Olga Tyshkevich, recalled the situation as follows: "Pasha [Pavel Belyutin] said they wanted to attack Belarus. Their goal was to destroy Belarus' energy resources, including the nuclear power plant. He said the aim was to cut off power to Belarus. They purchased more than 20 drones. I asked him, 'Are you crazy? Do you want to launch a strike on Belarus from Lithuania?'”
Pavel Belyutin was placed under close surveillance by KGB officers, who carefully monitored his movements in order to neutralize any potential threats. This led to the start of the Harpoon special operation. The name was not chosen randomly: the operation was intended to entrap the target and extract him to Belarus in order to isolate him and prevent any potential catastrophic events.
The trap was set up using the official website of the KGB, specifically, it was done in the "Electronic Appeals of Citizens and Legal Entities" section. There was an archive with thousands of messages, which was modified to include a fake appeal allegedly written by Pavel Belyutin. The message read: "Good afternoon. I have grounds to believe that Nikolai Nikolaevich Avtukhovich, a citizen of the Republic of Belarus, is planning and preparing for an armed coup to seize power in our country. I learned about this attempt from Nikolai Avtukhovich's statements." This message was then inserted into the archive to appear as if it were a real entry from the database.
KGB officers monitored the whole process as the perpetrators tried to breach the website. Eventually, they managed to access a section that was deliberately left open for them.
Everything went according to the KGB's plan. The intruders downloaded the database, including the one set up for them. Five days later, a scandal broke out within opposition circles when the self-exiled opposition discovered Belyutin's fabricated message and accused him of being a snitch.
Pavel Belyutin was questioned by the State Security Department of Lithuania. From that point, his discrediting unfolded automatically. On 29 July 2024, the Migration Department under the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Lithuania recognized him as a threat to national security. On 29 October of the same year, his refugee status was revoked. Then, on 16 January 2025, a court in Kaunas ruled that he should be banned from remaining in Lithuania. Realizing that he could be imprisoned or deported back to Belarus, Pavel Belyutin turned to exile communities in Germany, followed by attempts to appeal to those in Portugal, where he was also unsuccessful. He then attempted to contact exiles in Spain, but to no avail.
Everything went according to the KGB's plan. The intruders downloaded the database, including the one set up for them. Five days later, a scandal broke out within opposition circles when the self-exiled opposition discovered Belyutin's fabricated message and accused him of being a snitch.
Pavel Belyutin was questioned by the State Security Department of Lithuania. From that point, his discrediting unfolded automatically. On 29 July 2024, the Migration Department under the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Lithuania recognized him as a threat to national security. On 29 October of the same year, his refugee status was revoked. Then, on 16 January 2025, a court in Kaunas ruled that he should be banned from remaining in Lithuania. Realizing that he could be imprisoned or deported back to Belarus, Pavel Belyutin turned to exile communities in Germany, followed by attempts to appeal to those in Portugal, where he was also unsuccessful. He then attempted to contact exiles in Spain, but to no avail.
Wandering through various European countries, Pavel Belyutin felt abandoned and unwanted, exhausted by indifference and cast aside by his own circle. The details of his return to Minsk remain unknown, but he is now in Belarus, where he will face justice.
The Harpoon operation is over, but the consequences await. “The State Security Committee has repeatedly stated that individuals who have committed crimes, particularly serious crimes against the state, wherever they may be, will live with the knowledge that the hour of reckoning is inevitable,” head of the KGB Investigation Department Konstantin Bychek emphasized addressing the self-exiled opposition.
The Harpoon operation is over, but the consequences await. “The State Security Committee has repeatedly stated that individuals who have committed crimes, particularly serious crimes against the state, wherever they may be, will live with the knowledge that the hour of reckoning is inevitable,” head of the KGB Investigation Department Konstantin Bychek emphasized addressing the self-exiled opposition.
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