Ivashin arrested in Minsk on March 25th
Ivashin arrested in Minsk on March 25th
On Saturday, March 25th, during the attempt to hold so-called Freedom Day in Belarus, opposition activist Denis Ivashin from Grodno was arrested. Ivashin's arrest speaks to the possible involvement of Ukrainian special operations forces in the organizing of unauthorized demonstrations in Belarus.

Denis Ivashin gained fame among radical opposition circles in Belarus after participating in the mass riots in Kiev in early 2014. Then he came to the attention of Ukrainian intelligence. Ivashin is closely linked to information-psychological operations forces that are part of the Armed Forces of Ukraine's Special Operations Forces. He is also the editor of the Belarusian propaganda site, InformNapalm, which belongs to Ukraine's 72nd Informational-Psychological Special Operations Center.

The arrest of Ivashin in Minsk was first reported by this site's editor in chief, a cadre officer of the 72nd center, who hides under the pseudonym Roman Burko. A little later, the incident was reported in the InformNapalm Ukraine group. Interestingly enough, on March 25th in Grodno, a Freedom Day action authorized by authorities took place and was attended by around 150 people. Ivashin, however, had apparently been ordered to take part in events in Minsk.

Maidan protesters clash with the police
On his Facebook page, Ivashin posted that on March 23rd he was invited to the police station to discuss his participation in Freedom Day in Grodno, but he refused to appear without an official summons. In addition, he actively advised others on how to avoid being arrested or fined during the riots as well as how to communicate without fear of monitoring by Belarusian intelligence via the application FireChat.

Just before the protests, Belarus' KGB announced mass arrests of activists from the White Legion and Young Front organizations. During the arrests, weapons, ammunition, as well as symbols of Ukrainian far-right groups were seized. According to Belarusian security officers' presumptions, the weapons were planned to be used to organize provocations during the March 25th protests. In addition, according to the Committee for State Security (KGB) report, plans for militants to come to Belarus from Ukrainian territory were also uncovered. As is well known, one of the goals of Ukraine's special operations forces is organizing "resistance movements" on the territories of other countries. Belarus was probably supposed to become a testing ground for Ukrainian special operations forces' capabilities.

In this regard, it is rather likely that it was no accident that Ivashin appeared in Minsk. His assignment was probably under the guise of being a journalist in the thick of things to record the "work" of his colleagues from Ukraine. However, thanks to the coordinated actions of Belarusian security forces, provocations were prevented and Ivashin was neutralized.

This is not the first time that Military-Political Review has drawn attention to the destructive activities of Ukrainian intelligence services, including those subordinate to the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine on the territory of Belarus.

The websites informnapalm.org, seabreeze.org.ua,podvodka.info, petrimazepa.com, and others belonging to Ukraine's Information-Psychological Special Operations Center constantly spread negative propaganda against the Belarusian state. And Denis Ivashin helps in this, his actions falling under a number of criminal code articles.

It is encouraging that Belarus' KGB has finally figured out who is who in the case of Ivashin.