MINSK, 25 July (BelTA) - Employees of the State Inspectorate for the Protection of Fauna and Flora must be ready to take up arms to defend the country, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko said as he met with Yuri Tertel, head of the State Inspectorate for Protection of Flora and Fauna under the President of the Republic of Belarus, to receive his report on 25 July, BelTA has learned.
“The inspectorate is a relatively military formation. When I sent a military man there, I thought that this component would be strengthened. During a meeting with the emergencies minister, I instructed him to set up a military unit with strong, reliable men in case of hard times,” said Aleksandr Lukashenko. “After all, thousands of rescuers serve there. I emphasize once again: these are well-trained, smart guys. We have agreed (and this issue has already been resolved) that we will have several thousand trained fighters there just in case. You need to have the whole inspectorate ready to take up arms. This factor must be also kept in mind,” the head of state said.
According to the president, if necessary, the inspectorate will be further equipped, and it is also worth developing appropriate training plans for its staff. “Rescuers need to be trained. It is not just about taking a rifle and going to the front. People need to be trained,” the head of state stressed. “It is not because there is some kind of an emergency, but we are all men and we must be prepared for it. You have to learn how to lead this army. Exercises need to be held on a regular basis. We need to have trained people. We need to learn the lesson from the experience of Ukraine, where they grabbed unprepared people (the country was ruined there even before this operation began) and sent them to the front. As soon as they reached the area of military operations, they were gone. They were not ready to carry weapons, let alone to fight. Therefore, we need to prepare our society to defend the Fatherland,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.
