Great Victory is value that we bequeath to our children to cherish

President of Belarus Aleksandr Lukashenko took part in the military parade dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the Victory of the Soviet people in the Great Patriotic War, which was held in Minsk on May 9th. 
In his speech the Head of State underlined that Soviet people showed an unprecedented will to win. No one in Europe managed to resist the Wehrmacht the way our people, our state — the Soviet Union — did. 

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As stated by Aleksandr Lukashenko, the Victory — being celebrated by the Republic of Belarus, fraternal Russia, our friends and allies, and all people of good will — is great and well-deserved. “This is Great Victory Day. This is the Victory of valiant soldiers of the Red Army, partisans, underground fighters and home front workers. This is the Victory of the Soviet people, the liberator nation from Nazism. On May 9th, 1945, the first festive fireworks lit up the sky, and a peaceful life — in which we tirelessly count the years and days of the Great Patriotic War events — began. For 80 years now, we have been celebrating the Victory, remembering the heroes and bowing our heads to the fallen,” the President said.
Aleksandr Lukashenko added that Belarusians are holding the parade in honour of those who did not flinch, who fought bravely and contributed to the slowing down of the death machine that was ruining cities, villages, destinies, and lives. 

“We are honouring the memory of the heroes who broke the military might of Nazi Germany, which put millions of European Nazis under its banner. Our people showed an unprecedented will to win. No one in Europe managed to resist the Wehrmacht the way our people, our state — the Soviet Union — did. The technically prepared and tactically tested Wehrmacht army stumbled on the Soviet border. It got stuck on its way to Moscow for many years,” the President stated.

Aleksandr Lukashenko reminded that the Nazis lost more soldiers and officers during their first days in Belarus than in two years of marching across Europe, “One million three hundred natives of Belarus fought in the ranks of the Red Army, and almost half a thousand of them became the Soviet Union heroes. About a million partisans fought behind enemy lines. More than eight hundred thousand people’s avengers operated on the territory of our republic. Over the course of a month, 16 partisan brigades successfully resisted the superior forces of the Wehrmacht and SS, who were helped by traitors: Latvian legionnaires, Ukrainian policemen, Russian Vlasov fighters and battalions of Belarusian collaborators.”
According to the President, people’s resistance forces were active on our land during the years of occupation. “No other country in the world ever knew such a widespread, multinational movement of partisans and underground fighters,” he stressed.
The Head of State added that our ‘brothers’ — representatives of more than seventy nations and nationalities — fought together with Belarusians. “It was a real second front, whose struggle largely predetermined the fate of the major battles of the Great Patriotic War. Our heroes stood ground and won. They taught Europe a lesson that we thought would be learned, but Western elites are actually learning-disabled,” Aleksandr Lukashenko stated.
Created as a political and economic association, the European Union has actually transformed into a totalitarian military-political bloc of openly revanchist sentiments. The Belarusian leader noted, “Brussels is systematically turning the territories of Poland and the Baltic States into initial areas for attacks on the eastern borders of the North Atlantic bloc. In the year of the 80th anniversary of the Great Victory, the European Union intends to raise the volume of military allocations to a level above three percent of GDP. Warsaw and Vilnius plan to lay minefields on the border with Belarus and Russia.”

Flypast during festive parade in Minsk to commemorate 80th anniversary of Victory in Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945   
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Aleksandr Lukashenko added, “Therefore, in the face of the monstrous threat of resurgent European fascism, we are now urging to remember the lessons of the Great Patriotic War. That’s why we need this Victory and the honouring of its heroes. We are calling on everyone: politicians, leaders, and peoples of Western countries.”

At the same time, the Belarusian leader stressed, “Do not misapprehend the peaceful rhetoric of Belarus. True, we are calling for peace. Yes, we wholeheartedly want to stop all wars and conflicts on the planet.”
Belarusians have been doing and will continue to do everything necessary, and even more, to strengthen the country’s defence potential and maintain the combat capability of its Armed Forces at a level that ensures reliable protection of the state’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The Head of State and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces emphasised, “We no longer want to walk under the whip and in bast shoes, and we will never do that! The Belarusian army is our main pillar, it is our reliable shield. We will demonstrate today our new and upgraded models of weapons and military equipment created by the Belarusian military-industrial complex, as well as in close co-operation with Russia.”
Noting that valiant military personnel — soldiers, officers and generals of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Belarus, military personnel of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, the People’s Republic of China, the Russian Federation, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan — are participating in the parade in Minsk, 

Aleksandr Lukashenko stressed, “We were together at that time, and we are together today. We must do everything to prevent a new global massacre, which could be the end of history.”

Foot procession during Victory parade in Minsk                    Kirill Stasko

Addressing the Great Patriotic War veterans, the President said, “This parade is in honour of your feat — the feat of soldier-liberators of Belarus who now live all around the world. Your conquests and the Great Victory are values that we bequeath to our children and grandchildren to cherish, as you do. I bow low to you! Eternal memory to the fallen heroes!”
The site at the Minsk Hero City Stele became the venue of the parade. The parade featured a flypast, a foot procession and mechanised columns. A flypast requires extremely high professionalism from pilots. The flight speed for airplanes ranged from 350 to 500 kilometres per hour, for helicopters — from 60 to 200 kilometres per hour. The air echelon included 39 aircraft — 12 helicopters and 27 airplanes.
The foot procession featured 33 parade units and five banner groups. Military personnel from Russia, China, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan also participated in the parade.
As part of the mechanised column, 26 parade units took part, with 275 pieces of equipment. The bright finale was the theatrical episode Let’s Live, prepared by the creative team of the Ministry of Culture and the Belarusian State University of Culture and Arts. After that, colourful fireworks lit up the sky of the Belarusian capital.

Mechanised column during Victory parade in Minsk                 Ilya Shvedko

Aleksandr Lukashenko congratulated Pope Leo XIV on his election

The President of Belarus sent congratulations to Pope Leo XIV on his election, sb.by reports with reference to the Belarusian leader’s press service
“I cordially congratulate you on your election as Head of the Roman Catholic Church and Supreme Pontiff of the Holy See. Your selfless and diligent service to God and people, and dedication to lofty spiritual ideals have brought you to a qualitatively new stage of your mission, which is very responsible and connected with the hopes of millions of all believers,” the message of greetings reads. “I am pleased to note that relations between the Republic of Belarus and the Holy See have enjoyed positive dynamics recently, and our vision of ways to solve the pressing problems of the modern world coincides.”
“I am convinced that the imminent arrival of the Ambassador of Belarus to the Vatican and the opening of the Embassy to the Holy See will give a new impetus to our co-operation in the spirit of trust and mutual understanding,” the Head of State noted. “I will be very glad to see you in our hospitable land, where Christianity has long been an important element of the social life and culture of Belarusians.”
“I wish you, Your Holiness, good health, strength, inspiration in your pastoral ministry, as well as courage and success in consolidating peace and developing interreligious dialogue,” Aleksandr Lukashenko added.

Based on materials of sb.by and belta.by