Lukashenko reappears in public, says Belarus on high alert

Belarus president Alexander Lukashenko re-appeared in public on Monday (May 15) after nearly a week-long absence sparking reports of health concerns. Lukashenko said that Belarus had been put on high alert, adding that four aircrafts had reportedly been shot out of the sky in southern Russia.

Lukashenko, 68, visited the ex-Soviet country's air force central command. He looked grim, wore a military uniform and had a bandage on his hand.

Lukashenko said Belarus put forces on alert for three days following the incident in a southern Russian region on the border with Ukraine.

"Three days have passed after the events near us, I mean in the region of Bryansk where four aircraft were shot down", Lukashenko said without providing further details.

"We had to react," he said.

Russian social media was rife on Saturday with footage of several Russian aircrafts crashing in Bryansk region. On video apparently showed a helicopter being hit and catching fire.

While the Russian defence ministry did not comment, Alexander Bogomaz, the governor of the Bryansk region, said a helicopter crashed in the town of Klintsy.

In a conflicting statement, Vladimir Rogov, a Moscow-installed official in the Russian-controlled part of Zaporizhzhia in southern Ukraine, said that four Russian aircraft had been shot out of the sky: two MI-8 helicopters, an SU-35 fighter jet and an SU-34 fighter bomber.

Lukashenko has been in power in Belarus since 1994. He had last been seen in public on Tuesday in Moscow at the time of Victory Day celebrations.

He skipped a lunch hosted by his ally President Vladimir Putin as well as several other events last week.

Belarus opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who fled to neighbouring Lithuania after 2020 mass protests against Lukashenko, took to Twitter to tell Belarusians they should be ready for any event.

"For us, it means only one thing: we should be well prepared for every scenario," she said.

"To turn Belarus on the path to democracy and prevent Russia from interfering," she added.

"We need the international community to be proactive and fast."

Lukashenko's spokespeople did not comment on his absence from public life.

(With inputs from agencies)

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