Lukashenko: There’s reliable defensive line to protect Belarus from attack from west

Belarus has created a reliable defensive line that will stop the enemy's advance if Belarus is attacked from the west, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko said in an interview with the Rossiya TV channel, BelTA has learned.

The head of state was asked about ensuring military security on the western borders against the backdrop of the military build-up in the southern part of the country near the border with Ukraine. "You have 10 NATO tactical battalion groups on the western border. We do not know what their plans are," the interviewer said.

"We are waiting for them. It will be easier for us there. There are defensive lines built from Brest to Grodno and up there. In fact, Lithuania and Poland closed their borders, which is favorable for us. We are also learning from this Ukrainian-Russian special military operation. We see where we need to deploy [troops and defensive lines],” Aleksandr Lukashenko said. “I will not say how many of them are deployed there. They will be enough to close the entire border. Not the Stalin Line [a system of fortified areas along the old western border of the USSR until 1939] but modern defensive points where our guys train. Every serviceman, when mobilized, must know where he should be and in which direction to shoot."

Aleksandr Lukashenko said that he had visited one of such points to examine the situation. “A good field of observation there. This is in the area of Brest. Brest is visible. It is possible to approach and break through the border, but it will be impossible to go any further. Any trespasser will be in full view. These points are on high ground, and training is conducted there. We keep up our defense there,” he said.

The Belarusian president stressed that he and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin have been planning the defense of the western direction for years. “We have defensive plans, and if needed we will turn them into offensive ones. They are trying to show everyone that 'they punched Putin and me'. Nothing of the kind,” the Belarusian leader said. “We see where the most serious attack on our alliance and our joint forces can come from. Therefore, we keep forces in the west. Moreover, we have equipped our army with serious weapons. You know, the Russian ones. These are both conventional and tactical nuclear weapons.”

For example, the Independence Day parade featured Iskander missile systems which can strike with tactical nuclear weapons.