The Sentence Handed Down To Igor Brylo, Lukashenko's Former Aide, Has Been Announced
- 15.07.2026, 17:43
Brylo was arrested in 2023 in connection with the “milkmen case.”
The sentences have been announced in the famous “milkmen case”, which began in November 2023 with the arrest of Igor Brylo, who at the time was Lukashenko’s aide for the Vitebsk region.
At that time, nearly the entire family of the head of “Babushkina Krynka” Gennady Skitov, including Skitov himself, as well as the holding company’s management, reports “Nasha Niva”.
What were the defendants accused of? The Skitovs, with Brylo’s assistance, allegedly set up a scheme at the state-owned “Babushkina Krynka” whereby warehouses were artificially overstocked, allowing products to be sold at a lower price to clear the inventory. Then, this high-quality milk and other products were shipped at dumping prices to intermediary companies, which sold the goods in Russia at market prices. The difference, accordingly, was split among the participants in the scheme.
Brylo actively cooperated with the investigation, while Skitov refused to testify. As a result, the investigation dragged on for a long time.
The trial did not begin until September 2025 and concluded three months ago.
As journalists have learned, Igor Brylo received a 12-year prison sentence—exactly what the prosecutor had requested. Gennady Skitov was less fortunate—he was sentenced to 15 years in prison.
However, few top officials actually serve their full sentences. In Lukashenko’s system, it is common practice to release them early and send them to manage state-owned enterprises.
In addition to the central figures, the following were also brought to trial:
— Viktor Skitov, son of Gennady Skitov, director of the “Minsk” branch of “Babushkina Krynka.”
— Artem Zubel, first deputy director of “Babushkina Krynka,” son of the former deputy chief of the Shchuchin police.
— Galina Titenkova, deputy director of “Babushkina Krynka,” who later headed the “Novaya Drut” farm in the Belynichsky District.
— Alexey Dranitsa, head of the foreign economic activity department at “Babushkina Krynka.”
— Denis Linnik, director of the “Osipovichsky” branch of “Babushkina Krynka,” former head of the Borisov District Department of Internal Affairs.
— Sergei Petrazhitsky, director of “Vitebskmyasomolprom.”
— Vladimir Sirut, Gennady Skitov’s “closest friend,” head of several affiliated companies.
— Sergei Kachanov, director of the Vitebsk-based “Meat and Dairy Products” concern
— “Nikolaevich M. V.” — a namesake of Mikhail Valentinovich Nikolaevich, former deputy chairman of the board of “Technobank” and deputy director of the Soligorsk soccer club “Shakhtar.”
— Vladimir Lisitsyn, founder of “BelAgroGen Belarus.”
It is not known for certain what five other people were doing while they were free: A. Chernyak, A. Yashchenko, G. Kirakosyan, A. Sobolkov, and A. Pankov.
The defendants were charged under 12 articles of the Criminal Code.