Belarus’ Emergency Minister Vadim Sinyavsky said on Monday that his ministry is fully prepared to assist other ministries if an armed conflict or insurgency breaks out within the state, as President Alexander Lukashenko earlier called on every citizen to respond to any aggression.
Minister Sinyavsky explained, “In the event of an armed conflict or any kind of riots, employees will be ready to assist the ministries, which will involve a significant number of employees.” State Belarus 1,
The President of Belarus previously said that “every man, not just a man” who is at least able to handle a weapon is needed to respond to an act of aggression.
Although Belarus did not send troops to join the Russian special military operation in Ukraine that began in February 2022, the president allowed its long-term ally Moscow to use its territory for its own military purposes and enter the neighboring country.
Since the start of the operation, Belarus and Russia have held several joint military training exercises, and in June President Lukashenko allowed his country to be used as a base for Moscow’s nuclear arsenal.
The move was widely criticized by Western countries and urged Minsk and Moscow to refrain from such acts.
Lukashenko has also met Russian President Vladimir Putin frequently, with the Belarusian president’s latest two-day visit to Moscow ending on Monday, where the two leaders talked about a “strategic partnership”.
Russia and Belarus are linked in a partnership called the “Union State” in which Moscow is by far the dominant player.
The perception that Lukashenko, a pariah in the West, is dependent on Putin for his survival raised fears in Kiev that Putin would pressure him to join a new ground offensive and open a new front in Russia’s operation against Kiev.
Putin met with his ally Alexander Lukashenko for the first time – since Wagner’s failed coup late last month – for two days of talks as he helped mediate a deal between Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the private mercenary group.
“There is no retaliatory strike,” Lukashenko said during the meeting before being interrupted by Putin, “there is one, but it has failed.”
The two leaders met hours after Russian forces attacked Ukraine’s Black Sea port of Odessa.
Indicating the importance of the meeting, Putin said at the time that he had “changed some of my plans so that talks with Lukashenko could last for two days.”
