Lukashenko: By End of 2026, We Should Have Our Own Stocks with Ammunition

Belarus should have its own production of standard ammunition by the end of the year. This was announced by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko at a meeting on equipping the Armed Forces and developing the military-industrial complex of the Republic of Belarus, BelTA reported.

Alexander Lukashenko noted that the meeting was closed due to many confidential matters. "But the main question is: how is the building of ammunition production capacity progressing? By 2027, or even by the end of 2026, we should have our own ammunition. Standard ammunition," the head of state said.

According to Alexander Lukashenko, no matter how much the role of missiles and drones is extolled in modern military conflicts, they don't decide the outcome of a war, or even a single clash. "We continue to see that conventional weapons play a major role in the war in Ukraine. Artillery and 152- ammunition for them (152mm artillery ammunition – BelTA). And Grad rocket launchers – formerly the Katyusha – proved very effective during the Great Patriotic War. They were a great help to us back then. And today, these Grad-type rocket launchers play a major role on the battlefield," the President noted.

Alexander Lukashenko stated that, as military experience shows, the consumption of such ammunition is very high.

Therefore, it was previously decided to produce domestic ammunition for artillery guns and Grad launchers. "A decision was made to build the required production facilities here, capable of producing sufficient quantities of ammunition. There's no secret here. I'm not hiding it. You see what's happening in Western Europe—Europe's largest companies are increasingly producing ammunition," the head of state said.

Alexander Lukashenko recalled that the issue of domestic ammunition production had once been raised, and that it had now been resolved. "Grenade launchers will have their place in any battle, especially in our country given the natural conditions we have. Therefore, we must produce our own ammunition for grenade launchers," the President continued.

Summarizing, the head of state noted that all the aforementioned munitions can be produced in the required quantities and stored safely. "We can produce them in sufficient quantities and store them in warehouses. These aren't drones, which can't be stored in large quantities. And how many warehouses are needed to store various types of unmanned aerial vehicles," he said.

Participants in the meeting included Prime Minister Alexander Turchin, Head of the Belarus President Administration Dmitry Krutoi, State Secretary of the Security Council Alexander Volfovich, Chairman of the State Control Committee Vasily Gerasimov, Deputy Prime Ministers Viktor Karankevich and Anatoly Sivak, Defense Minister Viktor Khrenin, Finance Minister Vladislav Tatarinovich, and Chairman of the State Authority for Military Industry Dmitry Pantus.