Visit to 38th Brest Guards Vienna Red Banner Air Assault Brigade

Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko paid a visit to the 38th Brest Guards Vienna Red Banner Air Assault Brigade on 22 June.

The head of state was briefed on the history of the brigade and its combat capabilities. Aleksandr Lukashenko got familiar with the samples of armament and military equipment in service, and also the living conditions of the servicemen.

The president also met with the military staff of the brigade.

Aleksandr Lukashenko noted: “A system to ensure national security has been created and effectively operates in Belarus. It is based on the Armed Forces. Our army gets equipped with modern weapon systems. Army units receive new samples of aviation hardware, rockets and artillery, armored vehicles, automobiles, and communications systems, including those of Belarusian make.”

“I have identified a reinforced-concrete task: if we want to protect ourselves, we have to make the main kinds of ammunition and weapons on our own,” the president stressed. A lot has already been done in this regard but a lot has yet to be implemented. “Later on we will endeavor to make our own things starting with small arms and ending with cutting-edge missiles like Polonez and even better than that. Certainly, we don’t have the capabilities other countries have,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said. “Nevertheless, we have discipline, duty performance, brains, the ability to make a fist little by little – and you can see that we have learned how to do some things. It is our advantage. We will continue using it later on to make Belarusian weapon systems and materiel.”

Maintaining the combat ability of the Armed Forces is particularly important in view of the rising global contradictions when military escalation is on the rise, when the role of international institutions have been devalued, including the UN and the OSCE. Aleksandr Lukashenko also pointed out continued attempts of individual countries to rewrite history, diminish Belarus’ role in World War Two and belittle the significance of the Great Patriotic War for the fate of the mankind. “We are resisting. It is also part of our legacy,” Aleksandr Lukashenko stressed. He reminded about the heavy toll the war had on Belarus’ population. “This is why we cannot give away this victory,” the Belarusian leader stated.

During a tour of the air assault brigade base the president was made familiar with the weapon systems and samples of hardware the brigade uses, with the living conditions of the military personnel. The head of state was also informed how the brigade had been established and was told about combat capabilities of this army unit.