Ukraine security service seeks extradition of Russian mercenaries from Belarus


KYIV (Reuters) - Ukraine's Security Service SBU will initiate the extradition of some suspected Russian mercenaries detained in Belarus, the SBU press service said on Thursday.

Belarusian security forces detained more than 30 suspected Russian mercenaries near Minsk after receiving information that more than 200 fighters had entered the country to destabilise it ahead of a presidential election.

State-run Belta news agency said the men worked for Wagner, Russia's best-known private military contractor and a senior Belarusian security official said 14 of the detainees had spent time in the Donbass region of Ukraine, where Ukrainian troops have fought Russian-backed fighters in a conflict since 2014.

(Reporting by Pavel Polityuk; Editing by Alison Williams)

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