Belarus preparing for war, country's leader says

Self-proclaimed Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko has said the country is preparing for war, as it is pointless to rely on peacetime now.

Source: Belarusian pro-government Telegram channel Pul Pervogo, as reported by European Pravda

Details: On 1 April, Lukashenko convened a meeting to review the results of a comprehensive inspection of the Armed Forces of Belarus, attended by about 300 servicemen, including senior officers.

He said he wanted his subordinates to be ready to fight, because in that case they will be feared and "no one will come here".

Quote: "There can be no peacetime. We are preparing for war. And people in this room, and not only here, must understand: we are categorically against war. Especially our officers, our soldiers, the Armed Forces. Because we know what war is."

Details: Lukashenko stressed that Belarus does not want war, "but the army exists for this purpose".

"If someone suddenly decides to talk to us and look at us through the sights of weapons, we will respond. That is what we are preparing for," the Belarusian leader said.

Background:

• In February, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia and Belarus were again discussing joint military exercises on Belarusian territory. He recalled that when the two countries conducted "very large-scale" drills previously, an offensive against Ukraine followed.
• In December, Lukashenko said that the Russian Oreshnik missile system had been delivered to Belarus.
• During the Russian-Belarusian Zapad-2025 drills, the border between Poland and Belarus was completely closed.

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