Five Kalinoŭski regiment’s soldiers killed in action in Ukraine

May 19, BPN. Five soldiers of the Belarusian Kastuś Kalinoŭski volunteer regiment fighting Russia in Ukraine were killed in action near Ukraine’s Bakhmut a few days ago, spokeswoman Kryścina Stankievič (call sign Čabor) has said.

The regiment’s Vołat battalion was holding positions in one of the buildings as Russians struck it with large-caliber barrel artillery, she said.

The building collapsed burying four soldiers under the rubble “with no possibility of evacuation” under heavy fire and continuing artillery shelling, Stankievič noted. The commander of a rescue team was killed in an operation to evacuate the wounded.

Belarusian volunteers formed the Kastuś Kalinoŭski Regiment in March 2022, initially as a battalion. Its stated mission is to liberate Belarus by defending Ukraine.

Belarusian investigators opened criminal cases against fighters associated with the regiment.

The interior ministry said in March that it had identified almost 200 Belarusians fighting in Ukraine.