President of Belarus convenes meeting on state defence order
Today, the President had a serious talk with the military not for the sake of a potential attack, but to protect the country and equip our army. Over the past decades we have paid great attention to the development of the military-industrial complex.We are not aggressors. We will not attack anyone. Alexander Lukashenko never tires of repeating this. But we must be ready to respond to possible threats to our country. To put it simply, we must not be caught unawares. And without up-to-date weaponry, it is impossible to defend one's security. Fortunately, Belarus has a powerful military-industrial complex.
What are the lessons of Ukraine? This is the question the Commander-in-Chief addresses to the people in uniform. And life only confirms, the course on the mobility of the Armed Forces adopted by our President turned out very correct. Today we are capable of moving swiftly and can respond with unacceptable damage to the enemy.
This meeting was also an opportunity to discuss in general, what is going on around us. NATO at our borders has not stopped building up its contingent and is conducting maneuvers.
Belarusian military industry
Our military industry is strong with its developments. Agata automated troop control systems, Pelenga and BelOmo optics, MZKT tractors are well-known brands on the arms market. In Soviet times we were strong in electronics we have not lost our competence. In general the technological capabilities and scientific potential allow the creation of virtually any kind of military equipment: from advanced electronics to missile systems.
Lukashenko about armament: simple and reliable weapons are most efficient
However, the head of state stressed that as far as armaments are concerned one shouldn't go overboard with "clever technologies" as everything must be functional and easy to use for an ordinary soldier. "And no contract army will save us in this regard. Simple and reliable weapons are the most efficient ones. That is the most important thing," stressed the head of the state. Alexander Lukashenko pointed out that the troops are supplied with the latest anti-aircraft missile systems Tor-M2, radar stations "Enemy," "Sopka," "Vostok," "Rosa" and electronic warfare complexes "Groza". Such means are needed, among other things, to detect low-flying targets.
Course on mobility of Armed Forces
During his visits to Belarus' military enterprises over the past 10 years, the President would never tire of repeating: mobility means everything for us. The course on mobility of the armed forces, on which our President insisted, turned out to be very right. We need troops, which, God forbid, are able to act swiftly and inflict unacceptable damage on the enemy.
А. Lukashenko is convinced that the stake on increasing the mobility of the Belarusian Armed Forces justified itself
"I refer once again to the lessons and experience of the Ukrainian conflict. I would like to emphasize: the T-72s tanks are very popular among the military. Our upgraded tanks are good weapons. And as for the lightly armored "Cayman" vehicles,we decided that our army should be mobile. Again the lesson of Ukraine. The most effective, including on the part of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, were the mobile groups, which instantly, unexpectedly approached the enemy, who far outnumbered them. But this requires the means of transport to approach any hotbed that the intelligence detects and strike at night or within an hour or two, which the developed road infrastructure of Belarus allows. That is, there should be very mobile units. And this is what we should focus on. Of course, S-400s are good, as well as super modern aircraft, and so on. But, aswe have seen again in the lesson, large high-tech forces, whether it's the United States or NATO, have a tremendous capacity to destroy all sorts of airfields and stuff in 1-2 hours. And where will you land your planes? Moreover, the survivability of these planes today is low," stressed the President. He reminded that about 10 years ago he persuaded Belarus to follow this way.
Head of the Defense Ministry: We did not make a mistake in development of the Armed Forces, we put the main emphasis on improvement of the Armed Forces and on mobility.
We couldn't even dream of record military budgets in the West. Belarus does not intend to increase its defense budget. Last year, 80 new armored personnel carriers, four unmanned aerial vehicles, more than 2,000 anti-tank guided missiles, dozens of troop control and communications equipment, and 10 aircraft were overhauled as part of the state defense order.
А. Lukashenko: The army of Belarus is capable of inflicting unacceptable damage on the enemy
Both our own developments and cooperation in the defense sphere with Russia make us feel confident. The Belarusian army is combat-ready and armed and will be able to fight back if necessary.
“We agreed with Russia that we'll probably keep the S-400 that we have. It may reach from Minsk to Berlin. These are the weapons that are designed for large armies, territories. Let's say, like the Russian one. As for the S-300s that we are armed with, they are quite good modern weapons, almost as good as S-400. But the S-400 is good equipment. We saw it in this operation as well. It is very good. We've agreed with the Minister of Defense to train tomorrow a few groups of guys, who will use this technique," said the head of the state.
Alexander Lukashenko also announced his plans to buy Iskander missile systems from Russia: "We need these weapons very much. We have them today. And again, I have agreed with the Russians that we buy from them the Iskanders. They won't be withdrawn from Belarus. They can be used for the defense of our space".
According to the President, the armament, which the Belarusian army has at the moment, helps to ensure its defensive capacity. "I think it is a good armament for the army. It shows that our army will be able to fight and inflict unacceptable damage on the enemy. That's the way we planned it. We are therealists, we understand that we will not be able to defeat NATO. But we can do damage, especially to the territories from which we will be attacked, we have all these weapons. These are weapons that cover the entire territory of Poland and as far as the Baltic."
"I have never concealed it and I am not hiding it: the Defense Minister and the General Staff have been instructed - we have to take everything into account," stressed the President. He pointed out that decision makers in Belarus should see and know what is going on in the neighboring area. It is a task of the State Border Committee, State Security Committee and the Armed Forces, as well. We are not aggressors, we are not going to attack anyone. But we must not only keep our gunpowder dry for the future, but keep our ears open today. We must see what our rivals are doing near our borders (I say this frankly, so that they understand), and respond.”