Representatives of the Belarusian Ministry of Defense made a surprising statement, linking the popular mobile game Pokemon Go, which was at the peak of popularity about ten years ago, with intelligence activities. According to the head of the department of the main department of ideological work of the department, Alexander Ivanov, one of the gaming zones, where "there were the most Pokemon", was located near the 50th air base, which is located in Machulishchi near Minsk. According to Ivanov, this place especially attracted the attention of players, since various military equipment and a runway were concentrated there.

"Where do you think there were the most Pokemon at that time? On the territory of the 50th Air Base, where there is a lot of military aviation equipment. Isn't this intelligence information?" — Ivanov said on a talk show on state television.

However, details about where exactly Alexander Ivanov got the information about the location of Pokemon in the game remained unclear. Despite the popularity of Pokemon Go in the world, the assumption of its use as a tool for collecting intelligence in Belarus caused a wide public outcry and many questions.