BORISOV DISTRICT, 13 February (BelTA) – Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko personally inspected the combat readiness of the Armed Forces. As part of a snap inspection, the head of state arrived at the 227th combined arms training ground in Borisov District on 13 February, BelTA has learned.
Upon arrival, the head of state heard a report on the progress of the combat readiness inspection of formations and military units being conducted according to the plan of the Defense Ministry and the General Staff. Details were provided by Defense Minister Viktor Khrenin, who was informed of the president’s unexpected visit only at 7 am.
This inspection is currently being conducted in parallel, without duplicating the tasks set within the framework of the snap inspection ordered by the president and the State Secretariat of the Security Council.
The minister reported that the 6th Separate Guards Mechanized Brigade, stationed in Grodno, had been placed on heightened combat alert. The brigade has never been inspected to this extent before. “The brigade will be fully mobilized to wartime strength. As of today, reserve servicemen have been called up to the reserve regiment of the Western Operational Command,” the minister said. “In accordance with the new methodology, based on the experience and problematic issues we identified during the inspections of the 19th and 11th brigades, we saw that an early call-up of reserve officers and training sessions with them were necessary.” Last week, such an early call-up of 400 reserve officers was carried out.
“Did you call up everyone, or were there some you couldn’t find?” Aleksandr Lukashenko asked.
“Everyone, 100%. By the way, people are now responding with great willingness. There were fewer people wanting to slip away somewhere, to find some excuse. There weren’t even any appeals,” Viktor Khrenin said.
Here, Aleksandr Lukashenko made a conclusion: “So people are taking the call-up seriously. Well, they’ve finally understood that this is training, because if war comes and we don’t know how to do anything...”
Aleksandr Lukashenko also inquired about the preliminary results and impressions from the first stage of the snap combat readiness inspection being conducted on his orders. “The army is capable of fighting. Overall, all brigade commanders who received your directive clearly understood the mission and made decisions to conduct marches to the designated areas. All marches were completed, and no personnel were lost along the way,” State Secretary of the Security Council Aleksandr Volfovich said.
According to him, there were isolated cases of equipment malfunctions. However, crews handled repairs on the march themselves, without calling on centrally subordinate units. “Two or three vehicles arrived in the area with a delay of an hour to an hour and a half. This did not affect the overall combat mission capability of any given military unit. There are issues regarding march discipline and certain calculations. But these are training matters that we will analyze and review in detail,” the state secretary of the Security Council noted.The head of state visited the battalion’s command observation post in the assembly area, where he spoke with military personnel and observed the inspection activities. Among other things, the discussion touched on how the soldiers’ living conditions are arranged.
The president emphasized the importance of conducting such inspections to maintain a high level of troop training. "Everyone is being tested. Even the defense minister and the state secretary. There are people watching them too, and they report back to me,” noted Aleksandr Lukashenko. “This winter, we are going to put everyone to the test.”
“Look, you have to learn your craft. You really do. Anyone who isn’t prepared is a dead man. No one’s going to ask us when or how we want to fight. On the contrary, they’ll be looking for a chance to attack us by surprise. I’m not saying it’ll happen tomorrow. But I can’t say it won’t happen at all, either. That’s why we’re preparing,” the Belarusian leader remarked, speaking about the need to be ready for any course of events.
The head of state also visited a dugout where personnel are housed. The conditions, while spartan in a military sense, are more than acceptable for wartime. “This is a resort for you,” Aleksandr Lukashenko observed, recalling that during his own service years, he had to endure far harsher conditions.
During the visit to the training ground, issues of equipping military units with modern hardware and approaches to addressing personnel matters were also discussed. The president stressed that soldiers must be provided with everything necessary to carry out their missions.
“Learn, keep learning. Learn just in case. If you know how to do everything, you’ll stay alive,” the head of state told the servicemen.
At the training ground, the president also visited the firing range, where training shoots were conducted with grenade launchers and automatic weapons. There were also plans to conduct training fires from armored personnel carrier weapons, but the thick fog made its own adjustments. However, even in wartime, using this equipment under such conditions would have been impractical, as the targets were not visible.
“Then we’ll have to wait. Wait, and proceed according to plan. Why should we just shoot blindly into the fog,” the head of state said.
Summing up, Aleksandr Lukashenko noted that he wanted to see firsthand how prepared the troops are for combat operations.
“Well, to be honest, there’s not a lot to get excited about. They’re shooting, they’re hitting targets. Let’s just call it average,” the president said. “Of course they are nervous - the president is watching over their shoulder. I get that there’s some tension. But overall, some hits, some misses.”
It is important to note that the shooting drills did not involve a specially selected team, but rather servicemen taken in order from the roster, regardless of length of service or experience.
“Let them keep working. We’ll see how we can make your life more complicated. We’re going to make it harder for you now. So don’t get too comfortable. “As for the battalion commanders, we’ll push them to the limit,” the president added, addressing the defense minister.
As BelTA previously reported, a large-scale inspection of the Armed Forces, ordered by the president of Belarus, began on 16 January. The primary goal is to obtain an objective picture, assess the actual state of the troops, and evaluate the actions of military personnel. This is precisely why the measures are sudden in nature. A key feature of the inspection is its organization. The head of state is putting military units on combat alert, bypassing the Defense Ministry and the General Staff.
The president signs a directive classified as “secret”, which outlines the concept of the upcoming inspection. State Secretary of the Security Council Aleksandr Volfovich receives a sealed package containing the document, after which he travels to the military unit designated by the head of state. By order of the Belarusian leader, Chairman of the State Control Committee Vasily Gerasimov is also involved in conducting the inspection.
Aleksandr Lukashenko maintains personal oversight of the inspection’s progress and regularly receives reports from the state secretary of the Security Council.
At a meeting on 3 February, the head of state explained the system underpinning the inspection as follows: “I trust everyone. But this is a snap inspection conducted by the commander-in-chief. And I want to see how the General Staff and the Defense Ministry will act during this snap inspection.”
The first unit to be inspected was a technical support military unit, one of the largest in the Armed Forces, which stores various models of armored weaponry and military equipment. Among the military units subjected to inspection are the 19th Separate Guards Mechanized Brigade, the 72nd Guards Joint Training Center, the 38th Separate Guards Air Assault Brigade, the 103rd Vitebsk Airborne Brigade, the 120th Separate Guards Mechanized Brigade, and the 11th Separate Guards Mechanized Brigade.
The inspection takes into account combat experience gained in modern military conflicts. Its results will serve as the basis for further improvement of the Belarusian army.
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