State TV Presents New Details About 'Foreigner' Who Shot KGB Agents In Hrodna

The story becomes more and more ‘detective’.

A KGB squad stormed an apartment in Hrodna on March 19, and a foreigner was killed as a result, who, according to Belarusian propagandists, was allegedly "dropped from Poland into Belarus to carry out terrorist attacks". State television channels presented the details of what happened on the evening of March 21.

The identity of the deceased has not yet been established so far. Neither the Belarusian nor the Russian databases found his fingerprints. As previously reported, a fake Russian passport in the name of Alexei Lomakin was found in the apartment.

According to the state media, Mr Lomakin was allegedly "dropped from Poland" into Belarus. From February 24 to February 28, he lived in Mahiliou, and on March 1 he went to Minsk. He immediately moved to Hrodna from the capital city. He lived in a rented apartment on Kurchatau Street in Hrodna, according to the ONT State TV Channel.

“Make-up, decorative glasses, clothes that change the proportions of the body - the foreigner changed his appearance, but extremely awkwardly. An unnatural nose and forehead, and a wig that he was touching up. Even taxi drivers looked askance at the dressed-up man, who, among other things, delivered him alcohol,” ONT reported.

Taxi driver Pavel Shostak, who drove Mr Lomakin to his house in Hrodna, in an interview with ONT noted the strange hairstyle of his passenger.

"His hair looked unnatural as if it was covered with varnish. When I came on the first day, he dialled me and offered to drink together, I refused, and then he asked if I had friends who could drink with him and were able to keep secrets," Mr Shostak said.

According to the state media, Mr Lomakin "monitored the buildings of the KGB, the police, large enterprises, the railway station and even the houses of the leaders of the power bloc and officials" in Hrodna.

“The criminal had to assemble the explosive device in Belarus. He bought a wireless doorbell with a range of 100 meters on March 15. Another 5-meter hard-wire he bought in a hardware store. For remote detonation. He also bought pieces of 12 meters of steel bars from a steel production facility. Striking elements - calculation for the maximum number of victims. And the main stuff - explosives, ammunition, weapons - were waiting in hiding places,” ONT reported.

On March 18, Aleksei Lomakin allegedly headed towards one of the weapons caches on the 38th km of the Hrodna-Astryna highway. According to state media, a bag with a Kalashnikov assault rifle, cartridges for it and grenades was hidden there. Having taken away the weapon, Aleksei Lomakin allegedly headed back to the rented apartment.

On March 19, fighters of the Alfa KGB Group knocked on his door. ONT went on to describe the chronology of what happened:

“The fighters approached the door of the terrorist’s apartment [we'd like to note that Lomakin’s guilt has not been proven yet, and the state media called him a “terrorist” - Ed.]. The door was barricaded to prevent the Alpha Group from entering. He expected that the fighters would hit the sight one by one. He equipped a firing point in front of the doorway in the room on the right, hiding behind the furniture. He fired two shots from an assault rifle and missed. Two shots hit the shield. The camera fell on the floor. The fighters retreated to a safe distance. They were ready for armed resistance.

The fighters observed the apartment with a telescopic camera. There was nothing to be seen behind the furniture in the corridor. The terrorist was hiding and preparing to meet with fire. Second try.

He fired two single shots, an automatic burst and immediately threw a hand grenade. The fighters reacted with lightning speed and hid behind a shield. Loud detonation. No harm done. Retreat. The fighters were monitoring the windows on the other side of the building. The explosion blew the windows out.

This provoked a return fire. The terrorist down. First aid. Evacuation. They tried to save the criminal. Quickly taken out of the building and put into the car. The shooter died on the way to the hospital.”

According to STV, earlier Lomakin booked accommodation in Homiel for a period from March 21 to March 23, he allegedly planned to flee to Ukraine from there.

The KGB opened a criminal case due to preparations for "committing an act of terrorism". 14 people have already been interrogated in the case, who, under various circumstances, communicated with Mr Lomakin. Five people have been placed in a pre-trial detention center. The owner of the apartment rented by Mr Lomakin, pensioner Elena Kostevich and her son Aliaksandr, who dealt with rental issues, are among them. According to ONT, Mr Lomakin contacted Aliaksandr via messenger from a Russian phone number. He rented an apartment for a couple of weeks. Aliaksandr Kastevich said that he came to the tenant to help deal with the washing machine.