Фото: пресс-служба Лукашенко
Aliaksandr Lukashenka arrived at the Obuz-Liasnouski training ground today to see how his directive on developing communications systems in the armed forces is being implemented. He used the visit to make fresh accusations against neighboring countries and once again assure that he does not intend to attack anyone.
Opening the meeting, Lukashenka stressed that Belarus must not fall behind in developing communications and electronic warfare capabilities.
“Today, the operational exchange of data, the security of communication channels and the speed of decision-making directly determine strategic advantage on the battlefield, guarantee the precision of combat missions and the safety of all personnel. In conditions where the whole world is rapidly developing information technologies, intelligence, electronic warfare and suppression capabilities, falling behind in this matter is tantamount to death. That is why we pay and will continue to pay great attention to modernizing the communications system in developing our Armed Forces and the military organization of the state as a whole”, he said.
According to him, several years ago, a task was set to equip the troops with modern communications equipment, taking into account the experience of “modern conflicts.” Now it is time to check how the task has been carried out. He then moved on to geopolitical invective.
“You know the foreign policy agenda. You see and observe the aggressive rhetoric directed at Belarus. Intelligence activities against Belarus are being conducted quite openly, almost brazenly: from time to time, we record various kinds of provocations and violations of airspace. But that is not the main thing.
The main thing is that our neighbors are spending billions of dollars on arming their armies today. Brazenly. It is not only exercises near the border, but also the creation of new units and armies that are being deployed on the border with Belarus. What is this? For us, military people, everything is quite clear. Therefore, as I once said openly and honestly, we need to prepare for war in order to avoid it. We must always be ready for an adequate response if something suddenly happens”, he said.
Aliaksandr Lukashenka, while accusing neighboring countries, ignored the migration crisis that has been unfolding since 2021 on the borders between Belarus and EU countries, as well as the full-scale Russian-Ukrainian war, now in its fifth year.
“Some people here are trying to reproach us, claiming that supposedly tomorrow we are going to attack someone. I repeat once again: we are not going to attack anyone, we are pragmatists. We understand that if we attack someone (say, one of our neighbors), it would be tantamount to death. We cannot win a conflict with our ‘monsters,’ the states located around our perimeter. So why start a war, if we are being absolutely frank? But we are obliged to defend every centimeter, every millimeter of our land, our population and ensure security”, Lukashenka continued.
He then returned to the main topic of the event.
“If we cannot control the troops, we do not need such troops. Where the system withstands strikes, where commanders and heads at all levels of government and the army, the Armed Forces control the battle and the system as a whole, that is what determines the outcome of the conflict”, Lukashenka continued.
He also took the opportunity to praise Iran, which, in his view, withstood its conflict with the United States.
“They withstood thousands of missiles and bombs. The United States spent billions ($100 billion is the figure being cited, though I think it was significantly more) to resolve the issue in its favor. But they failed to achieve the result. The command-and-control system demonstrated resilience, to the extent possible, and did not stop functioning. And control was maintained”, he said.
He was told that an operational-special exercise of the Armed Forces’ communications troops is being held on September 7-11. The aim of the exercise is to practice ways of ensuring stable command and control of the state’s military organization using new techniques and methods of organizing communications based on the experience of modern conflicts.
“We once agreed that the army would have not just a new system, but also new communications equipment. So that if there is a war, we can calmly control the troops, from the center all the way down to the unit?” Lukashenka asked Defense Minister Viktar Khrenin.
“The communications system will ensure stability, secrecy and reliability. What we have today, five years ago we could not even have dreamed of”, he replied.