Armed forces are being upgraded
Lukashenko: “We are preparing for war”
April 2, 2024, 5:21 p.m
According to local ruler Lukashenko, Belarus is preparing for war – in response to Western measures – and is allegedly arming its own troops. At the same time, Putin’s ally emphasizes his own peacefulness.
The authoritarian Belarusian ruler Alexander Lukashenko emphasized his country’s peacefulness during a visit to the border town of Grodno in the border triangle with Poland and Lithuania. “We don’t have to threaten anyone. We don’t want foreign territory,” he said, according to his presidential office. “Don’t believe anyone that we want to fight!” Lukashenko asked those present at the laying of the foundation stone for a hospital.
At the same time he said: “We are preparing for war, I say that openly.” Belarus is equipping its armed forces in case it is attacked. NATO and EU members Poland and Lithuania appeared to be preparing for war by building trenches and anti-tank barriers and purchasing offensive weapons, he said. Lukashenko told the residents of Grodno, which was Polish between the two world wars: “You belong to us. We will not give you up to anyone.”
Lukashenko is a close loyalist of Russian President Vladimir Putin and has also made Belarus available as a staging area for his war of aggression against Ukraine. Like Putin, Lukashenko also sees his country in a permanent conflict with the West.
At the opposite end of Belarus near Gomel on the border with Russia and Ukraine, Homeland Security began a three-day maneuver. The Ministry of Defense in Minsk announced that the officers’ readiness for action should be tested. The recruitment of volunteers for homeland defense in times of war should also be practiced.