Kiev, Ukraine and Minsk, Belarus (CNN)Security forces shattered the early morning calm of the lakeside Soviet-era resort outside the Belarusian capital of Minsk, bursting in to arrest 32 Russian mercenaries.
It was less than two weeks before Belarus' presidential election last year, and authorities suspected that the outsiders had been sent from Russia to interfere.
The men were indeed part of a mission. But the target was not Belarus, and they were not under orders from any Russian entity.
They were being set up. The 32, along with one other man detained in southern Belarus, were the target of an elaborate intelligence sting by Ukraine, with the knowledge and alleged support of the United States.
