The Belarusian army’s staffing problems were reported by Poland’s tvp.info website, which cited independent Belarusian news outlet Nasha Niva.
'If necessary, we will respond'
On Monday, Lukashenko announced that Belarusian troops would be deployed with Russian forces near Ukraine, suggesting a potential further escalation of the war, the Reuters news agency reported.
The Belarusian leader said that “strikes on the territory of Belarus” were “being planned” by Ukraine.
He accused NATO of similar designs, tvp.info reported.
"We have been preparing for this for decades. If necessary, we will respond," he warned.
'Russia trying to directly draw Belarus into this war': Zelensky
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday told the leaders of the Group of Seven rich nations that Lukashenko’s threats meant Russia was "trying to directly draw Belarus into this war.”
He stressed: “Ukraine did not plan and does not plan military actions against Belarus. We are only interested in restoring our territorial integrity.”
Zelensky asked the G7 group to support his initiative for an international observer mission to be deployed along the Ukraine-Belarus border.
Belarus was 'staging post for Russian troops' to invade Ukraine
Commenting on Lukashenko’s recent statements, the nashaniva.com website, which is being blocked by the regime in Minsk, said that “so far, not a single missile from Ukraine has landed on the territory of Belarus,” according to tvp.info.
Meanwhile, "it was Belarus that served as a staging post for Russian troops entering Ukraine in February,” nashaniva.com added, as cited by tvp.info.
“Now Kyiv is focused on liberating southern Ukraine and so can’t be interested in opening a second front in the north,” nashaniva.com also said, according to tvp.info.
‘Lukashenko can’t fight Ukraine - he doesn’t have an army’
The nashaniva.com website asked a high-ranking officer in the Belarusian army about Lukashenko’s possible intentions.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, the officer said, as quoted by tvp.info: “Lukashenko can’t fight Ukraine - he doesn’t have an army. The Belarusian army is understaffed.”
He added: “Only the special-operations forces are combat-ready, being 70- to 80-percent staffed.”
“Some other units have similar staffing levels but the absolute majority of forces are incomplete, half-staffed at best,” the officer assessed, as quoted by tvp.info.
According to nashaniva.com’s anonymous source, the Belarusian army has “enough military equipment,” but “lacks personnel to operate it,” tvp.info reported.
‘Lukashenko wouldn’t do a thing’
“I can’t see Lukashenko laying down a challenge to Ukraine with such a weak army,” the officer also said, as cited by tvp.info, describing the Belarusian leader’s recent rhetoric as “childish foot-stamping meant for the Russian audience."
The officer told nashaniva.com: “Lukashenko wouldn’t do a thing even if Ukraine used the HIMARS advanced rocket systems to blow up Belarusian airports housing Russian forces, in response to the Kremlin’s missile strikes,” tvp.info reported.
Wednesday is day 231 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
(pm/gs)
Source: tvp.info, nashaniva.com, belsat.eu
