Aleksandr Lukashenko makes working trip to Minsk Oblast

Belarus needs a mobile army with effective weapons, President of the Republic of Belarus Aleksandr Lukashenko said as he visited Electronic Warfare Systems Repair Plant No. 2566 and Repair Plant No. 140 during a working trip to Borisov, Minsk Oblast, on 24 June.

The head of state was informed about the organization and production structure, financial and economic activities and development prospects of the enterprises.

At the Electronic Warfare Systems Repair Plant No. 2566 the head of state gave an instruction to design and launch the production of the Belarusian air defense missile system as good as the Russian S-300 system. Aleksandr Lukashenko emphasized that apart from repairing and upgrading the hardware Belarusian enterprises should gradually advance towards making new modern weaponry. “We have to create our own system based on this and it should be as good as the S-300 system. Think about what kind of missile it will have. The missile has to be effective and able to destroy any target,” the President said.

Aleksandr Lukashenko stressed he would like more than one enterprise or a government agency to be involved in the effort. The task has to be accomplished by combining efforts of all concerned parties.

At Repair Plant No. 140 the President said: “We need a mobile army. This is what we want. Therefore, we need to provide it with mobile machines with efficient weapons. We will need these mobile multi-purpose vehicles to take us wherever we need and deliver a heavy blow to whoever happens to invade our country.” The head of state have an instruction to provide the Belarusian Armed Forces and special operations departments of the Interior Ministry with mobile vehicles.

Aleksandr Lukashenko also set a task to design Belarus' own armored vehicle. “You have already developed the mobile vehicle for 10-12 people that can move at the speed of up to 100km/h and can take mobile divisions and weaponry to any place. However, you should also come up with the most advanced armored vehicle for modern-day warfare. You know better what these vehicles should be like. You have experience and you have studied the world's best practices, therefore it should not take you long to design a vehicle that the customers would queue for, including foreign customers,” the President said.

“Thus, think how you can branch out into new lines of business that will bring foreign currency to Belarus, a lot of foreign currency, more than today,” Aleksandr Lukashenko underlined.

The head of state remarked that repair and upgrade services are also in great demand globally. “Time has changed a little bit. People have come to realize that to survive, to protect their family and the country they need to keep their powder dry. They have realized that new weaponry is a good thing, but it is expensive. Therefore, the entire world is now shifting its focus to repair, renovation and upgrade of old machines,” the President believes.

According to the President, Belarus is also doing it by upgrading tanks and planes, other types of expensive weapons and fitting them with the most advanced solutions.

The President praised the company for providing civilian services in addition to executing orders for the defense sector. The company repairs and upgrades the rolling stock, diesel engines, produces all-terrain, emergency and special-purpose vehicles. “You need to take up anything that you can handle and get money for. Everyone in the world does it,” Aleksandr Lukashenko stressed.

The President also talked to the workers of the companies.

Speaking about the possibility to increase the pension age in Belarus, the head of state said that this issue is off the table for now. “People are against an increase in retirement age. I cannot make decisions against the will of the people today. If the situation gets more complicated and as an economist I see that it is bad for the country, then I will tell you directly: let’s delay pensions by 5 years in two or three steps. But we don’t intend to do this for now and are not going to resolve the problem this way. It can wait. But it is very difficult. I will definitely tell you sincerely and honestly when we are going to do it,” Aleksandr Lukashenko stated.

Another issue discussed at the meeting was the possibility to accommodate migrants from Ukraine in Belarus, "We are ready to accommodate such people. We need workers. And we are ready to accommodate them in different parts of our country, give them housing and a place to work,” the President said.

Speaking about the targeted us of road toll payments, Aleksandr Lukashenko stressed that this money will be used to develop and repair the road infrastructure.

Aleksandr Lukashenko emphasized that his major priority is maintaining the security of the state. “No one will ever forgive the President, and he will never be able to find a good excuse, if this existing stability is disrupted and we lose this security, including military security,” the Belarusian leader noted.

“No one will be able to get away – neither swindlers and thieves, nor those who do not let us live a normal life. Therefore, let us unite our efforts to preserve this stability. I am not only trying, but I am doing everything,” the Belarusian President concluded.