Lukashenko: Belarus will strengthen its army

Belarus is going to strengthen its army. Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko made the statement in his address to the nation and the parliament on 28 January, BelTA has learned.

Aleksandr Lukashenko said it is necessary to take the system designed to ensure national security to new heights, particularly defense. It is necessary to better equip army units with weapons and materiel, train the personnel how to use modern methods and ways of dealing with threats. It is also necessary to develop territorial defense.

“Our army is compact, agile, and combat-effective. We will reinforce its power,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.

The president remarked that the production of missiles is already in full swing in addition to the creation of unmanned aviation, small arms and ammunition, modern means of communications and automation, military optics and other products of the Belarusian defense industry. “And we will buy what we lack. It is particularly important considering the current events. I want you to understand that it will not be cheap but we need to have a sufficient supply of main weapons such as small arms, grenade launchers, assault rifles, pistols, machine guns,” Aleksandr Lukashenko stressed. “1.5-2 million Belarusians need to know how to use them. Then nobody will be able to defeat us in this forested and swampy terrain as they said in the past.”

The head of state also believes that it is necessary to more actively advance interaction with Russia and other allies within the framework of the Collective Security Treaty Organization. “Kazakhstan's example has demonstrated how fast the Collective Security Treaty Organization can respond to security threats in the Eurasian space. The collective security forces have become a key factor in the stabilization of the situation. The new Military Doctrine of the Union State of Belarus and Russia will substantially reinforce guarantees of peace in our region. It is necessary to increase the efficiency of strategic deterrence, carry out joint combat training events for defense purposes,” Aleksandr Lukashenko added.

The president remarked that the participation of the CSTO's small peacemaking contingent in the operation had helped stabilize the situation in Kazakhstan. “If it had been necessary, tens of thousands of military personnel would have been sent there in order to pacify those, who pulled the strings of looters and bandits,” he stated.