On Wednesday, 33 people were arrested in Belarus, formerly Belarus, on suspicion of having planned to create unrest in the country ahead of the presidential election later this summer.

According to the state news agency Belta, all work for the private Russian security company Wagner and are now being investigated for preparation for terrorist crimes, reports CNN.

Up to 200 additional people are in Belarus territory, according to the latest data. A search for them is underway, but it is like looking for a needle in a haystack, says the head of Belarus' Security Council Andrei Ravkov during a press conference.

Power struggle between the countries

The Russian Embassy in Belarus has been informed of the incident. But according to Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for the Kremlin, Russia has not yet received any details about the arrest.

- This is nothing but insinuations. Russia and Belarus are allies and each other's closest partners, so this is out of the question, he says according to CNN.

According to SVT's Russia correspondent Bert Sundström, however, relations between the two countries have deteriorated in recent years.

"It has to do with the fact that Belarus' President Alexander Lukashenko wants to emphasize his independence from the Kremlin while Russia wants to increase its influence over Belarus," he said.

Opposition politician: "A public relations ploy"

Criticism of Alexander Lukashenko has escalated ahead of the August 9 presidential election, and protests against his sixth re-election campaign have been going on for weeks.

- Those who protest are residents who are starting to get tired of the fact that he seems to have an eternal hold of power and also realize that their standard of living and the country's economic development is not particularly good as long as he holds all power in the country, says Bert Sundström.

Two of Lukashenko's strongest contenders in the election have been jailed and a third, Valerji Tsepkalo, has been forced to flee the country. He believes the arrest is a public relations ploy to get more people to vote for the incumbent president.

- It is an attempt on Lukashenko's part to divert attention from the economic and social problems and from societal unrest, says Tsepkalo.