Meeting with Minsk officials, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said the country should form paramilitary units in every city or town to serve as territorial defense and supplement the 45,000 military “in case of aggression”, with weapons “to protect their families and homes”, if necessary.
Defense Minister Viktor Khrenin, in turn, said Belarus will form a force of up to 150,000 volunteers who will receive weapons but keep their civilian jobs.
According to the official, this force will form a military reserve in peacetime and will be able to act as a fighting force in the event of war.
Alexander Lukashenko has close political and military ties to Russia, which almost a year ago used Belarusian territory to send troops to Ukraine to launch what the Kremlin called a “special military operation.”
Russia also maintained about 10,000 troops in Belarus and the two countries held regular joint exercises as part of their military alliance.
Lukashenko praised the importance of defense cooperation with Russia and expressed support for Moscow’s invading forces, but stressed that he would only send Belarusian troops to Ukraine if his country came under attack.
Russia strongly supports Lukashenko, who has ruled with an iron fist for nearly three decades and helped him weather months of mass protests sparked by his re-election in August 2020, which have been labeled rigged by the opposition and the West.
Source: DN
