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Lukashenko Fires Top Brass Over Teddy Bear Drop

Channel One ran pictures of the teddy bears touching down near the town of Ivyanets in early July.

Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko fired two senior military officials and warned two others after Swedish amateur pilots parachuted hundreds of teddy bears into the country in a pro-democracy stunt.

Authorities had earlier denied the plane drop, in which two unidentified pilots released about 800 stuffed animals with messages supporting freedom of speech near the town of Ivyanets on July 4, saying a video of the daring flight posted online was a fake.

In the video, one of the pilots can be seen throwing the bears from a low-flying aircraft. Notes in Russian and English reading "We support the Belarussian struggle for free speech" are attached to each toy.

The plane was chartered by a Swedish public relations firm and flew into Belarussian airspace from Lithuania, Reuters reported.

President Lukashenko, known for cultivating a strongman image, responded to the incident Tuesday by firing air force commander Dmitry Pakhmelkin and the country’s top border guard, Igor Rachkovsky.

The presidential press service said the two had been fired for "improperly carrying out their duties in ensuring Belarussian national security," Interfax reported.

Lukashenko also upbraided Defense Minister Yury Zhadobin and head of the General Staff Pyotr Tikhonovsky over the incident, the press service said.

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