Report on proposals for adjusting Plan for Construction and Development of Armed Forces for 2026–2030

On 18 June, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko heard a report on the proposals for adjusting the Plan for the Construction and Development of the Armed Forces for 2026–2030.

The document defines the tasks of the army in peacetime and wartime. The event is a scheduled one.

The event has brought together State Secretary of the Security Council Aleksandr Volfovich, Deputy State Secretary Andrei Gorbatenko, Defense Minister Viktor Khrenin, Chief of the Main Intelligence Directorate - Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces Vladimir Kupriyanyuk, Commander of the Special Operations Forces of the Armed Forces Aleksandr Ilyukevich, and Commander of the Air Force and Air Defense Forces Andrei Lukyanovich.

Aleksandr Lukashenko said: “A massive inspection of the Armed Forces was held in the past. We have done an initial review of the results. I believe it was done sincerely and without hiding anything. According to my data, the discussion itself, the discussion about the results has been very favorably received by the army. People in military uniforms have responded to that in a positive manner. But during the review a series of factors and aspects were pointed out. The army was supposed to discuss them and present a report for the sake of adjusting the plan on building and developing the Armed Forces till 2030.”

Aleksandr Lukashenko commented on the drone attack on a bus carrying Belarusian citizens, which occurred in Russia’s Bryansk Oblast on 17 June.

“I have warned more than once that war today is not somewhere far away, and you know this even better than I do in certain areas. It is right beyond our fence, and sometimes even closer,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said. “This is evidenced by various kinds of provocations. And not just provocations, but direct violations of agreements and the conduct of certain states during wartime. For example, the attack on a dormitory in Starobelsk, which resulted in the deaths of people, including children and the drone strike on our bus in Bryansk Oblast. As military people, we must understand all aspects.”

“This is yet another act of banditry. And this is not even a terrorist act: this is open fascism, when they strike at children,” the Belarusian leader emphasized.

The drone that attacked a bus carrying Belarusian citizens, including children, in Bryansk Oblast was Ukrainian, the President said.

“We are not rushing to make any conclusions, but we clearly state the fact that this is a drone of Ukrainian origin. This is a Ukrainian drone,” the Belarusian leader said.

Aleksandr Lukashenko said that Ukraine had responded to the claims by stating that many people buy these drones. “That is, they claim ‘it's not us’. It’s someone who bought it, or perhaps it was some kind of provocation, even going so far as to suggest that it was practically the Russians who carried out such a strike,” the head of state said about the response from Ukraine. “But some things are already known today. They claim that they flew no drones in Bryansk Oblast at that time. However, the bus driver said that he (probably like others - the investigation will show) saw not one drone but several, which, as he put it, were buzzing and flying over the bus.”

“One of these drones (thank God it was not a powerful one) attacked the bus. As a result, one person was killed and our children were injured,” the President noted.

“There are plenty of conspiracy theories here,” the head of state remarked.

Aleksandr Lukashenko instructed to take under control and establish the truth in the case of the drone attack. He gave the corresponding instruction to State Secretary of the Belarusian Security Council Aleksandr Volfovich.

“We hear statements, excuses, and various versions. But we need the truth. We are waiting for this truth or a real, fair, and honest answer from Ukrainian state officials and military. We will establish this truth anyway. It will not be a big problem,” the Belarusian leader emphasized. “This case must be investigated. Together with the Russians. They are ready to help us.”

“If anyone is provoking us and trying to drag Belarus into war, it will end badly for them. We are remaining calm. There are those who are unsettled by Belarus’ peaceful stance. That is why we are witnessing these events,” the head of state said.

All the people, who were injured by the drone strike on a bus transporting Belarusian citizens in Russia’s Bryansk Oblast, must be definitely saved, the President emphasized.

Aleksandr Lukashenko said: “We should heal our people and our kids on our own. We have everything for it. I thank Russia for offering us this aid. We can do it on our own. I pointed it out to the minister yesterday [on 17 June]. All the injured people should be transported either to Gomel or to Minsk. We should cure them.”

The head of state stressed that the kids must be saved without fail, even those with grave injuries.

“We will send the rest home. They should go in for sports in our country,” Aleksandr Lukashenko noted.

The head of state has ordered a ban on children’s trips abroad without state oversight and permission.

“I don’t want to condemn anyone here, but I would like to ask our people, and especially parents, when it comes to children, to stay home during this time. We need to focus on football and other activities here. It is more comfortable here in a quiet, peaceful country. And we need to ban any trips abroad without state oversight and permission,” the Belarusian leader said.

In connection with the incident, Aleksandr Lukashenko drew attention to several aspects, mentioning the purpose of the trip to Gelendzhik for the group of Belarusian children.

“I want to draw attention to the fact itself: parents, and they do not deny this, organized this trip, supposedly for a holiday or to train people to play football in Gelendzhik. Listen, do we not have enough land to play football? Do we lack fields for children and adult teams to train properly? We have enough,”" the head of state said.

To get to their destination, the parents turned to a private company and hired a bus. ”I don’t want to condemn that private company either. They were operating legally - individual entrepreneurs. They rented a bus and set off,” said Aleksandr Lukashenko. “And now some people are making claims. We don’t need that. We adults, and parents above all, need to be more careful about these things.”

Returning to the topic of the report, the head of state stressed that the discussion should be organized in a businesslike manner without citing various peculiarities of military service. “Let’s make it without ‘heroic deeds’. We’ve already seen ‘heroic deeds’ on the part of the military and discussed them during the conference [on summing up results of the army inspection campaign],” the President noted.

“Be specific. How you discussed [proposals on adjusting the army development plan] and what your conclusions are, what we are going to do from now on,” Aleksandr Lukashenko told participants of the meeting.

The head of state identified key approaches to further construction and development of Belarus’ Armed Forces.

“To increase the efficiency of air defense (without any overthinking), counteract unmanned aerial vehicles, train officers are some of the main directions,” the President stated.

The head of state underlined the need to make measured and balanced decisions. “We shouldn’t make mistakes. We have no money to spare. We cannot switch the entire Armed Forces to drones. And we shouldn’t do it in our conditions. But that’s my opinion. You may have conferred with each other and decided that you should do what the entire world does and go crazy about drones. It is a dangerous thing. It is necessary to learn how to fight these drones. We need a strong weapon against drones. Starting with ordinary small arms and ending with radioelectronic warfare solutions. It has to be done. It is our cup of tea. We know how to make it. We made some things back in the Soviet times. We make some now. But our defense industry has to work harder on some aspects,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.

Aleksandr Lukashenko emphasized the importance of high-quality officer training.

“The main thing is the officers. We must not deceive ourselves. We will never train an ordinary conscript in a year and a half or two to the level of an officer. But if an officer is well-prepared and has a head on his shoulders, he will quickly lead the servicemen, guide them, and teach them how to act and in which direction,” the head of state stressed.

“That is why officers are issue number one,” the President added. “They must be trained properly. And if someone does not want to do this, then we are not on the same path.”

Aleksandr Lukashenko noted that the state has done a great deal to ensure that the Armed Forces have all the conditions necessary for such officer training, as well as for providing them with housing and other living conditions.

“Exactly. A lot has been done [by the state],” confirmed Belarus’ Defense Minister Viktor Khrenin.

“And you constantly come to me saying that logistical issues must be solved: apartments, wives, kitchens, children, and so on. I understand that these things are needed. But an officer must understand that we all serve not just for the sake of having a kitchen. We chose this profession to defend the Motherland. And we will do this under different conditions,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.

“When we, an admittedly not rich country, sometimes take the last resources from the people for the sake of the Armed Forces, especially now, officers must repay this with their military service. There is no other way,” the Belarusian leader stated.

The head of state revealed what underlies his strict demands regarding the training of officers and the Armed Forces as a whole: "We understand that if, God forbid, a hot war breaks out, we will simply be like people sent to die. We will simply be doomed. We saw this in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine."

“The southern border, 1,500 kilometers (you know this, our military is stationed there), is burning like never before. This is the answer to some military personnel who ask whether we need to protect the southern border in reinforced mode or not. Here is the answer: we do. We are military people, and the nation feeds us so that we can protect them,” the head of state emphasized.