Leader of Belarus acknowledges attack on Russian warplane

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — The authoritarian leader of Belarus says an alleged Ukrainian saboteur and more than 20 accomplices have been detained over an attack on a Russian war plane stationed in his country. President Alexander Lukashenko on Tuesday said a Beriev A-50 parked at the Machulishchy Air Base near Minsk was attacked on Feb. 26. It was the first official acknowledgement of the incident. Belarusian guerrillas from the Association of Security Forces of Belarus, or BYPOL, claimed responsibility for the attack last week, saying they used two armed drones to damage the early warning aircraft. Lukashenko accused Ukraine’s president and security service of plotting the attack with the CIA. Ukraine and guerrilla activists in Belarus rejected the accusation.