Фото: пресс-служба Лукашенко
Alyaksandr Lukashenka warned military officials that they would not keep their positions if they failed to prove themselves, and also demanded that Alyaksandr Turchyn and Raman Halouchanka adapt so that the armed forces could modernise their equipment.
“I want to warn you: not one of you will remain in your position. Not one. Starting with the minister and ending with those present here, if you do not prove your worth”, Lukashenka said today while summing up the combat readiness inspection.
Lukashenka warned that he would “keep pressing” each of them.
“Let us consider, Pavel (Chief of the General Staff and First Deputy Defence Minister Pavel Muraveika — Reform.news note), that this is our first acquaintance in battle. After that, we will start picking each of you apart piece by piece. War. Hear this from me: the war has begun. It is in this situation that you must act. Not in the sense of ‘peacetime’ and ‘wartime'”, he said.
Lukashenka said that the Belarusian army is described as “one of the leading armies in the world” and demanded that the military live up to that reputation.
“I want you to know how to fight. Because everywhere they say about our Belarusian army: ‘Oh, this is an army! One of the leading armies in the world.’ So I want us to live up to that. And, most importantly, I want you not to lose your heads on the first day of war. That is why everything matters. As for how to act — you were taught that”, he said.
Lukashenka also demanded that Prime Minister Alyaksandr Turchyn and National Bank head Raman Halouchanka adapt so that the armed forces could continue renewing their equipment.
“Both the prime minister and the chairman of the National Bank need to adapt in the most serious way as well. Because we can demand things from them (the military), but in some places there were isolated cases when commanders said: ‘Let the President find out that our equipment is not ready, that something has broken down, that something is wrong.’ Equipment needs to be constantly renewed. That is true. It must be renewed”, Lukashenka said.
Lukashenka cited North Korea as an example of a country that finds money for armaments despite poverty.
“When I was in Korea (you know people live modestly there, but how they work!), talking with Kim Jong Un, I said: ‘Listen, do you understand that this is expensive?’ Of course, he said, I understand, but I have no other choice — I have to defend the land.
That is why we need to think about how to allocate the necessary funds, especially for new weapons that we need”, Lukashenka said.
Lukashenka also said that Belarus is preparing for war, that the recent combat readiness inspection had revealed shortcomings in the armed forces, and suggested that the military change their concentration areas more often.