Belarusian activist reportedly killed by FSB agents in northwestern Russia

A Belarusian citizen was killed in Russia’s Republic of Karelia during an attempt by Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) agents to arrest him on terrorism charges, Russian state news agency Interfax reported on Thursday, citing the FSB’s Public Relations Center.

According to the FSB, the man belonged to the Kastuś Kalinoŭski Regiment, a unit of Belarusian soldiers fighting for Ukraine. The agency alleges that the man was planning to blow up a government building on instructions from Ukrainian special services and that he was “neutralized in the course of a shootout” after opening fire on officers during his arrest.

Earlier on Thursday, the Telegram channel Astra reported that Russian FSB officers had killed a 49-year-old Belarusian activist named Nikolai Alekseyev on March 6 and that a felony terrorism case had been opened against Alekseyev the same day.

Alekseyev’s son Vlad confirmed to the independent Belarusian outlet Nasha Niva that his father has been killed. According to Vlad, his mother traveled to the morgue in Karelia, where FSB officers confiscated her phone.

“Dad was a wonderful person. He couldn’t have shot anybody,” said Vlad. “He was a deeply religious person, praying constantly. He and I would go to church together.”

Nikolai Alekseyev participated in the mass protests in Belarus that followed the country’s 2020 presidential election. He was a frequent critic of Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko. Why he was in Russia at the time of his death is unclear.