Lukashenko: We are preparing for war, but we don’t want it

“Don’t believe anyone who says we want to go to war. We are preparing for war. I’m being honest about it. ‘If you want peace, prepare for war.’ Those are not my words, but they are very well said. If someone from there (from enemy countries) criticizes us, then we are doing the right thing. If they start praising us, that’s a big problem,” state agency Belta quoted Lukashenko as saying.

The Ukrainska Pravda server reported that Lukashenko participated in the placement of a time capsule in Grodno at the site where a new hospital is to be built, and that his words were a message sent to neighboring countries. According to Lukashenko, these are not threats. “We don’t need to threaten anyone. We don’t want anyone else’s land. God willing, we will successfully cultivate ours,” he said.

“We kick at our borders just like they do, but our goals are completely different,” he continued. “They’re digging trenches, building fortifications against tanks and other things, investing in assault weapons. Here, we give two-thirds of the regional budget to the social sphere. We want to build a peaceful future,” he described.

Russian and Belarusian athletes are not welcome at the Olympics, the mayor of Paris said

Foreign

Belarus has long supported the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which Russian President Vladimir Putin justifies, among other things, as a “threat from the West”. Russian troops also invaded Ukraine from the territory of Belarus and also launched several missile attacks from it. A significant amount of Russian military equipment continues to travel through Belarus, and wounded Russian soldiers are being treated in Belarusian hospitals.

Lukashenko has increased the frequency of military exercises and equipment inspections in recent years. He also stated several times that the Russians would deploy nuclear weapons on Belarusian territory. He justifies these actions with the Kremlin’s claims that NATO plans to attack Belarus.

The words about the states that are fortifying themselves are probably directed towards the countries on NATO’s eastern border, which are dealing with the strengthening of defense in response to repeated claims by Russian leaders about the possibility of war with the Alliance and strikes on “European decision-making centers”.