On April 1st, President of Belarus Aleksandr Lukashenko convened a meeting to summarise the results of the Armed Forces’ comprehensive inspection, inviting around 300 officers from across the country to the Palace of Independence for this serious discussion
The Commander-in-Chief immediately announced his intention to hold this meeting with complete transparency, revealing everything openly. Aleksandr Lukashenko emphasised that this inspection was conducted on an unprecedented scale, with greater rigour, and received extensive media coverage, “Although this was a scheduled inspection, it was the largest ever in the history of independent Belarus. We placed the participants in conditions that closely resemble real combat challenges, without any adjustments for weather, time of day, or other factors that could complicate the execution of combat missions.”
The President noted that military units and permanent readiness divisions from the Western and Northwestern operational commands, special operations forces, as well as air force and air defence units, were involved in the control exercises, “There will be more to come. Following my order, we will continue to put certain units on combat alert, reinforce them if necessary, and truly learn how to fight.”At the request of the Commander-in-Chief, the State Secretariat of the Security Council, along with the State Control Committee, conducted an inspection of the weapons and equipment status in units and military formations under central command.
“The level and speed at which tasks are assigned and completed are dictated by the seriousness of the geopolitical situation and the escalating events and threats occurring near our borders — and not just near our borders. The Armed Forces’ readiness to repel any enemy and their ability to respond immediately to any aggressive actions against our frontiers is the only guarantee of the peace and security for the state,” Aleksandr Lukashenko emphasised.According to the President, every aspect is important in modern warfare: the training of officers, the skill of soldiers with their weapons, the physical condition of the troops, the state of weapons and military equipment, and the standards of their maintenance. “These elements are essential for survival and success in combat. Each one of you holds the greatest responsibility for the country and for our peaceful and friendly citizens,” the Belarusian leader underlined.
Belarus is firmly against war
The President emphasised that the current inspection was conducted under conditions as close to wartime as possible, “The task was clear: to assess how the units that the President would bring to full combat readiness during wartime would perform. There can be no peacetime [for conducting inspections]. We are preparing for war. Everyone here — and beyond — must understand that we are completely opposed to war, especially our officers, soldiers and the Armed Forces, because we know what war is. We do not want war. But the army exists for this purpose: if anyone chooses to challenge us and point weapons at us, we will respond. That is what we are preparing for.”Aleksandr Lukashenko pointed out that the recent inspection was covered by the media, “Let me be clear from the start: it was presented in a way that many of you might have preferred. Because all the weaknesses in our army — and there are many — we don’t want to reveal them to potential adversaries or even enemies. That was not our intention. So today, we will speak openly, and I encourage you to do the same and insist on honesty. And all those talks (which I know well and will address later) about ‘the President will be told what he wants to hear’ and ‘we’ll run around, jump, and everything will be fine, as always...’ — that’s not going to happen. It won’t! And I want to explain why. Because I am not going to adapt to you; you will have to adapt to the Commander-in-Chief. If you want to survive in a future war — God forbid it happens — and if we continue as some are doing now, not only will we fail to survive, but our subordinates won’t either. I see this clearly from current combat conflicts and wars. The goal of this inspection was not to ‘drain you’. As a military person, I understand the army well — how it was in the past and how it is now. I want my subordinates to be ready to fight. If we are ready to fight, others will fear us and no one will dare to attack us. That is my goal.”
‘To know where you are lying and where you are not’
President Aleksandr Lukashenko explained the reasons for involving the State Control Committee, the State Security Committee (KGB), the Investigative Committee, and other agencies in the inspection.At the request of the Commander-in-Chief, the State Secretariat of the Security Council, along with the State Control Committee, conducted an inspection of the weapons and equipment status in units and military formations under central command. “To be even more frank, so that those who think everything will be as usual don’t hold onto that belief — all the tools currently available to the Commander-in-Chief have already been put into use. We are living under a dictatorship, as you know, and the President holds enormous power. Therefore, the State Control Committee, which is their responsibility, must be fully aware of the status and condition of military property and asset. Their second duty is to monitor the use of state funds — tracking where the money is going and how efficiently it is being spent. To ensure you don’t deceive me (and I have served in various positions — from private to officer — so I know how the military can lie, I understand that such dishonesty in the army has not been eliminated) and to identify where you are lying and where you are telling the truth, as well as to monitor the progress of our inspection, all special units have been mobilised: the State Security Committee, especially counterintelligence agencies, the Operations and Analysis Centre, the Prosecutor’s Office, and the Investigative Committee. Everyone was called into action. But I realise they also wear uniforms and share a strong sense of brotherhood. Therefore, I demanded that they bring the most basic, unfiltered information directly to my desk,” the Head of State pointed out.
Uncontested guarantee of peace and state security
At the same time, as the Head of State noted, the Defence Minister and the Chief of the General Staff regularly report that they do not see any concentration of enemy troops on the borders of Belarus. In this regard, Aleksandr Lukashenko expressed confidence that no one would concentrate troops before the offensive, as it was during the Great Patriotic War, since the nature of warfare had changed significantly. The experience of the special military operation also indicates this.
“Who, for example, in Poland, Lithuania, NATO, if they suddenly decide to fight against us, will not be able to determine the point — i.e. in the Kobrin location — of the Armed Forces’ deployment and concentration? They will show a point on the map and start penetrating into our territory, doing this in battalion tactical groups, small groups — just in the way we observe in Ukraine. If necessary, they will concentrate in the direction of the main attack,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said. “Isn’t this possible? Meanwhile, Viktor Gennadievich [Khrenin] expects thousands of them to concentrate somewhere near Warsaw and move towards us in columns. This may be the case, but I would not accept such a report from the General Staff before the start of the operation. The situation has changed. They are not stupid. They know what they want from us, and they know what we will pay attention to.”
Geopolitical situation is serious, threats near Belarus’ borders are escalating
The President drew attention to a fairly wide range of leaders of other states with whom he is well acquainted and regularly communicates. Combined with many years of work experience, this makes it possible to form an opinion about the international situation and the events that are developing in the world. “I am an informed person. You know that we are negotiating with Americans. The experience of my life and work, including military service, helps me draw appropriate conclusions from smiles, hugs, kisses, and so on with Americans all the way to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea — not to mention China and Russia. I have a long-standing relationship with the leadership [of these countries], and not only with the leadership,” Aleksandr Lukashenko added.
Military to change concentration areas more often
President of Belarus Aleksandr Lukashenko instructed the military to change their concentration areas more often. “It is extremely important to leave the accustomed places, the barracks, in time and move to concentration areas. I went there more than once with the brigade I was in [during the military service], unlike today,” the President said. “It is important to relocate to the concentration area in order to get out from under a strike.”At the same time, the Head of State drew attention to the fact that, in the current situation, it is important to change concentration areas more frequently, taking into account the intelligence data available to a possible enemy. Aleksandr Lukashenko explained, “Everyone sees us, they know us. I have been provided with the photos from a Ukrainian drone. I saw that they had made photos of our Brest location, as well as our brigade and all the points in this area. They see and know everything."
“We need to change the concentration areas, but the enemy must not know this — since the first missiles will head there. It may be necessary to change them more often, and it is definitely necessary to change the area during the threatened period,” the Commander-in-Chief instructed. “Therefore, special attention was paid to your mobility [during the inspection of the Armed Forces’ combat readiness]. After being sent to a concentration area, you promptly arranged it as a place to live and were ready to fight. We paid special attention to this matter.”
BELARUS MAY INCREASE NUMBER OF TROOPS TO 500,000 IN CASE OF WAR
In case of war, Belarus can increase the number of its troops to half a million — as stated by President Aleksandr Lukashenko.“Our army currently numbers 70,000, and a total of just under 100,000 troops. [Deputy Interior Minister, Commander of the Internal Troops Nikolai] Karpenkov and [Interior Minister Ivan] Kubrakov also have troops [internal troops in the structure of Belarus’ Interior Ministry]. The State Security Committee also has its own, and others as well — so there are 100,000. [There will be] half a million, including additional conscription in case of war,” the President said.
ALEKSANDR VOLFOVICH: ‘IT IS IMPORTANT TO MAKE BELARUSIAN ARMED FORCES EVEN STRONGER’
Aleksandr Volfovich
He recalled that the inspection took place from January through March, spanning nearly two and a half months. It was the first time such a large-scale exercise had been conducted: 44 military units, including ready-alert units, were unexpectedly put on combat alert and put to the test. “The purpose of the inspection is not to check and grade as ‘excellent’, ‘good’ or ‘unsatisfactory’. The purpose of the inspection is to assess the level of readiness and capability of the Armed Forces to defend the country, to protect sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Aleksandr Volfovich said. “If everyone can see that our Armed Forces, though small and compact, are capable of deploying in the shortest possible time and fulfilling their tasks of protecting the sovereignty and the Belarusian people, I think no one will dare come to our land with ill intentions,” he added.
“Although one must prepare for anything. By preparing for war, you ensure that war will not happen.”
The main focus during the inspection was on the ability to counter enemy sabotage and reconnaissance groups, illegal armed formations, to repel a sudden attack on army columns, protect them, and to occupy prepared defensive lines in the shortest possible time.
The main conclusion following the inspection, according to him, is unequivocal: ‘Today, the people in uniform are capable and ready to defend their country’.
It was a candid, principled and tough conversation. Thus, unit commanders where shortcomings had been identified were unexpectedly called up to the podium from their seats in the hall. So were military commanders.
“The President demanded an unvarnished report on all the details, issues, what worked, what did not work, and what needs attention. He gave me and the Defence Minister clear tasks to analyse once again and submit concrete proposals on how to improve the situation regarding the identified problems, to replace those who are incapable of leading. After all, war does not and will not forgive mistakes,” the State Secretary said. He emphasised that any unit commander must meet the criteria expected of a person in uniform: to be professionally trained, capable of independently carrying out a combat mission, making command decisions, and leading personnel. “It was a substantive, tough, man-to-man conversation. We will draw appropriate conclusions to ensure that our Armed Forces become even stronger and even more capable,” he noted.
A large-scale inspection of the Armed Forces was launched on January 16th by order of the Head of State, with Aleksandr Lukashenko personally supervising its progress. The primary goal of this inspection was to gain an accurate understanding of the Armed Forces’ capabilities and their readiness to perform their designated functions. Therefore, emphasis was placed on the element of surprise and the utmost objectivity in evaluating the military units being inspected. In this regard, a new approach was developed in which the President, bypassing the Defence Ministry and the General Staff, directly brings military units to combat readiness.
Based on materials of sb.by and belta.by
