Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko on Friday paid a visit to a group of Russian military personnel participating in maneuvers in the vicinity of Baranovichi, where he inspected the combat readiness of joint troops.
Lukashenko highlighted the expertise of the Russian Army and stressed the importance of «protecting the common homeland.» «I think you will tell me more than I will be able to tell you. It is very important for me and not only for me. This experience is very important for Belarus,» he said.
«The most important and significant is that our commanding officers have agreed that the shortcomings will be addressed, because we will have to continue working in this way, training Belarusians and Russians,» he has noted, as reported by the Belarusian news agency BelTA.
In this regard, he pointed out that the Belarusian authorities «are getting a lot of information and experience» from the Russian military. «Our officers have not smelled gunpowder, figuratively speaking, so (…) it is like going to school to receive a lesson for them,» he concluded.
The Belarusian authorities confirmed on Monday that the military exercises conducted jointly with the Russian Army will last at least until this Sunday. Such maneuvers date back to last April 29 and seek to increase the joint forces’ ability to react to a possible attack in the midst of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Belarus, an ally of Moscow, has allowed the deployment of military on its territory to support the invasion of Ukraine, unleashed on February 24, 2022 by order of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Putin ordered the start of the invasion days after recognizing the independence of the self-proclaimed republics of Donetsk and Lugansk, located in the Donbas region (east) and the scene of a conflict since 2014. Moscow announced in September the annexation of these regions and those of Kherson and Zaporiyia, partially occupied in the framework of the conflict.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
