The Belarusian news agency Belta reported this on Tuesday. According to Belarusian media reports, K. admitted, among other things, to having photographed military installations on behalf of the Ukrainian security service SBU.
He also received a backpack, which he left on the tracks at a train station southeast of Minsk. The backpack exploded before a train arrived, but no one was injured. The German Foreign Office was initially unavailable for comment.
Negotiations in the background
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock had previously said that the German government would do everything it could to provide the German citizen with the best possible support. According to earlier Belarusian media reports, negotiations were taking place in the background about the fate of Rico K.
An exchange is conceivable, as Belarus’ close ally Russia is also negotiating such measures with the West. For example, the US journalist Evan Gershkovich, who is imprisoned in Russia for espionage, is to be exchanged for the “Tiergarten murderer” Vadim Krasikow, who is imprisoned in Germany.