Belarus president sacks chiefs over teddy stunt
The plane, chartered by a Swedish public relations firm, crossed into Belarussian air space from Lithuania on 4 July and dropped about 800 of the toys near the town of Ivenets.
Each bear carried a message calling for Belarus to show greater respect for human rights.
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Hide AdIn a statement yesterday, the presidential press service said that Dmitry Pakhmelkin, the air defence chief, and Igor Rachkovsky, head of the border guards, had been dismissed “for not properly carrying out their duties in safeguarding Belarussian national security”.
Once described as Europe’s last dictator, Mr Lukashenko has been ostracised by the West because of a crackdown on political opponents.