General Staff Explains When Reservists May Be Exempted From Military Training

The Ministry of Defence has explained in which cases reservists may be exempted from military training conducted as part of checks of combat and mobilisation readiness.

According to Yury Gantsieusky, deputy head of a department of the Main Organisational and Mobilisation Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces, the time allowed to report to preliminary assembly points is minimal — sometimes less than 24 hours — and the duration of training may reach up to 60 days.

He said that the grounds for exempting reservists from training are set out in Article 71 of the Law of Belarus “On Military Duty and Military Service” and Article 17 of the Law “On Mobilisation Preparation and Mobilisation”. Under Article 71, military commissars may exempt reservists from training in individual cases if there are valid reasons supported by documents.

“For example, a minor child breaks an arm while sledding. At that time, the mother is away on a business trip. The father, who is a reservist, receives a summons to report for military training. After providing all supporting documents, the military commissars decided to exempt this reservist from undergoing military training,” he said.