MINSK, 22 February (BelTA) – During a solemn assembly held in anticipation of Day of Fatherland Defenders and the Armed Forces of the Republic of Belarus Defense Minister Viktor Khrenin drew attention to the combat systems the army has, BelTA has learned.
Viktor Khrenin said: “Thanks to tight interaction with Belarus’ defense industry enterprises and to the highest level of military technology cooperation with brotherly Russia over 200 units entered service [with the Belarusian army] last year alone. About 300,000 units of weapons, military hardware, and military gear were acquired and shipped to army units.”
According to the defense minister, the Belarusian army received squadron sets of the operational-tactical missile system Iskander, a regiment set of the air defense system S-400, and a set of the air defense missile system Tor-M2, a number of multiple-launch rocket systems (MLRS) V-300 Polonez-M, BTR-82A armored fighting vehicles, Mi-35M attack helicopters, a broad range of unmanned aerial systems and modern reconnaissance, communication, and navigation solutions, radar stations, and many other things. Viktor Khrenin added that a number of Su-30SM aircraft and Mi-35M helicopters are expected to be acquired in 2024. The renovation of the fleet of aerial units and weapon systems will continue in the near future.
The official assured: “All these steps have not been prompted by militarist intentions. We don’t engage in saber rattling but we are getting ready to defend our land, our families, and our independence at any time. Military personnel of the Belarusian army continuously improve their combat skills and actively assimilate the experience of Russia’s special military operation [in Ukraine] into troop training practice. They are busy mastering modern methods and ways of repulsing threats, including in interaction with other defense, security, and law enforcement agencies. Interaction actively develops with allies in the Collective Security Treaty Organization, which stands as a guarantor of security in the Eurasian space.”
The deployment of Russian tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus’ territory represents an important factor for deterring the aggression of Western “hawks”, the defense minister pointed out. “We remember the suffering the Nazi invaders and their allies inflicted upon the Belarusian nation during the Great Patriotic War [of 1941-1945]. We are inheritors of the Victory and will not allow invaders to set foot in Belarusian land once again. The Belarusian army is full of resolve to defend the Belarusian nation with all its might that stems not only from the force of arms but primarily from the force of spirit, the unity of ranks, devotion to the Fatherland and duty,” the defense minister concluded.
