News & Events in Belarus

MLRS rocket production, hot-button interview, signals to new ambassadors in hot President’s Week

The work schedule of the Belarus president is always full of events. Aleksandr Lukashenko holds conferences and working meetings on the most topical matters concerning the country’s development, regularly visits the regions, goes on foreign trips and welcomes foreign guests, talks to reporters, signs decrees and laws. And even if there are no public events, it does not mean that the head of state does not work. It must be said that even when he relaxes, for instance, by playing ice hockey or chopping firewood, Aleksandr Lukashenko happens to find the time to give yet another instruction. All the decisions must be prompted by life, he likes to say.

The President’s Week project is intended for those, who want to keep up with the head of state, be up-to-date on the latest statements and decisions of the Belarusian leader.

Why does Belarus need to make ammunition domestically? How can the country defend itself in a hot war? Why does the country need Russian nuclear arms? When will they be delivered? Will there be enough resolve to push the button? The president visited a defense industry enterprise and answered critical questions of reporters. He also made a few comments about a diplomatic casino with Western tycoons and mentioned Belarus’ favorite candidate in the race for the U.S. presidency. Aleksandr Lukashenko also promised to sort out lazy executives and discuss consequences of the hot and droughty weather for agriculture. Hot quotes from Aleksandr Lukashenko’s interview with reporters, from a government conference on personnel management and from conversations with heads of diplomatic missions are in the latest episode of BelTA’s special project President’s Week.

 

The RS 122 rocket is now batch-manufactured. What’s next?

A working trip to Minsk Oblast on 13 June was the first event in the president’s schedule last week. On that day the head of state visited a defense industry enterprise where he was made familiar with the organization of production of rockets in Belarus and talked to reporters later on. Not only Belarusian but Russian reporters could ask Aleksandr Lukashenko their questions.

Hot season in agribusiness. The situation is not critical but very serious

The head of state went to the site of the event in a helicopter. One can assume that during the flight he paid attention to the state of agricultural land in the region amid the complicated weather conditions because upon arrival he asked Minsk Oblast Governor Aleksandr Turchin how the weather was affecting harvest projections. The president drew attention to the preservation of grassy fodder. In his words, cereals can be imported to address shortages but it is necessary to stock up on grassy fodder as much as possible.

Looking slightly further at the chronology of the presidential week, it is worth mentioning that Aleksandr Lukashenko drew attention to the state of affairs in agriculture at an event held on 16 June and directly unrelated to agriculture. He promised he would take a closer look at the matter soon. The president said he gets briefed about the state of crops every morning. By comparing performance of Brest Oblast and Grodno Oblast, which enjoy roughly the same conditions, Aleksandr Lukashenko noticed that the fodder harvesting pace in Brest Oblast is twice as fast.

“What’s the matter? I’m not comparing Grodno and Brest with Vitebsk. Who guarantees to [Grodno Oblast Governor Vladimir] Karanik that tomorrow all his equipment and he himself will not be transferred to Vitebsk to provide support there? Why are you hesitating? I need results, especially in a critical situation,” the head of state demanded. “The situation in agriculture may not be critical, but is very serious. Next week we are going to listen to the government’s ideas regarding ways to solve the situation in agriculture.”

They are designed to solve massive problems and are indispensable to victory. What is it all about?

During the visit to the defense industry enterprise the head of state was informed about the launch of batch production of the most popular type of ammunition – RS 122mm rockets.

“Dear Comrade Commander-in-Chief! In furtherance of your instruction to set up the production of the most in-demand types of ammunition in the Republic of Belarus we’ve organized the relevant work,” Chairman of the State Authority for Military Industry of Belarus Dmitry Pantus told the president. In his words, the relevant work started in November 2022 and today more than 20 enterprises affiliated with the State Authority for Military Industry and the Industry Ministry work to produce this type of ammunition. Some of the enterprises are privately owned.

The enterprise the president visited takes care of final assembly of ammunition. The process is completely manual, which is a world practice, as a matter of principle, because the work requires special precision. There are plans to improve the process in Belarus in the future and expand the country’s capabilities and potential.

After getting familiar with the technological process of rocket assembly, Aleksandr Lukashenko stressed these products are needed: “It turns out the army needs them badly.” Both high-precision modern weapons and simpler ones such as machine guns and grenade launchers play an important role in combat operations. “Rockets, high-precision weapons, jets, helicopters, Leopards, Bradleys are destroyed in the same way as Soviet tanks and infantry fighting vehicles (we have recently seen this during the first stage of the counteroffensive [in Ukraine])... It is good that we have decided against expensive things which we would not be able to produce, but would have had to buy. On the ground, all of it in addition to assault rifles, grenade launchers, and machine guns solve very big problems,” the president said.

According to him, armament types such as, for example, multiple-launch rocket systems Shkval (modernized Grad MLRS) are in demand today. They are in great demand and solve big problems on the frontline. Respectively ammunition for these MLRSs is also needed.

“I'm not saying that those [expensive high-precision weapons] are not needed. They are needed. However, without these [simpler weapons of our own] there will be no victory on the frontline,” the president stressed.

He gave instructions to raise the output to the full designed output capacity and increase output figures. “We will make 10,000-12,000 pieces of ammunition a year. Since we are a 'dictatorship', we can reach the annual production of 15,000 pieces if we work hard,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.

ON THE HEELS OF THE LATEST DEVELOPMENTS. Lukashenko responds to questions of Belarusian mass media

While at the premises of the defense industry enterprise Aleksandr Lukashenko talked to mass media representatives. Reporters of the president’s press pool asked their questions. Then the head of state gave an interview to a Russian TV channel.

 

Weapons of deterrence that are unlikely to be used

A BelTA reporter asked Aleksandr Lukashenko about plans to deploy Russian tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus. According to Western mass media, Russia is intent on accomplishing it ahead of a NATO summit, which will take place in Vilnius on 11-12 July. These actions are interpreted as an attempt at nuclear blackmail. The president was asked to give his take on the matter. The reporter asked Aleksandr Lukashenko why Belarus needs nuclear weapons and what the storage and usage conditions are.

“Russia doesn’t intend anything. Russia is not the point,” Aleksandr Lukashenko answered. He stressed that he had requested the deployment of nuclear weapons in Belarus and had insisted that Russia would do that in order to guarantee the security of Belarus. “It was my requirement. Russia did not impose this decision on me. Why? Because, as you all say, no one has yet fought against a nuclear power. And I do not want anybody to fight against us. Does the threat exist? Yes, it does. I have to prevent this threat,” the president explained.

The president is convinced that tactical nuclear weapons instead of strategic ones are sufficient for achieving these goals: “I don’t think anyone will want to fight against a country that has such weapons. It's a deterrent weapon."

However, naturally Belarus would like to avoid situations where nuclear weapons would have to be used. “God forbid that I have to make a decision to use these weapons in modern times. But there will be no hesitation in the event of an aggression against us,” Aleksandr Lukashenko stressed.

He warned that storage facilities for tactical nuclear weapons had been prepared and the weapons might soon be delivered to Belarus. “Everything is ready. I think several days will pass and we will have what we’ve asked for. And slightly more than that,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said. “We’ve prepared everything and are realizing the program that we’ve sketched out together with the president of Russia.”

Vladimir Putin confirmed this information while speaking at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) several days later: “We’ve been in negotiations with our Union State, with President Lukashenko about the redeployment of some tactical nuclear weapons to the Belarusian territory. It has happened. The first nuclear munitions have been delivered to Belarus’ territory. But only the first few ones. It is the first part. We will complete this work fully by the end of summer, by the end of the year.”

Biden vs Trump. Who will Belarus root for?

Speaking about elections in the United States of America, the head of state noted that who will become the next presidential candidate and who will win the election race is not so important. “Biden or somebody else. He does what they say. Does he make his own decisions?” Aleksandr Lukashenko asked a rhetorical question. “Appropriate people make decisions. So unbelievable things can happen over there."

According to polls, Joe Biden is losing to Donald Trump. But this fact does not mean anything, the president stressed.

“We have seen how they hold elections in the United States. People can vote by mail or can vote in exchange for money. It’s a nightmare! We are saints. Our ‘dictatorship’ is holy in comparison to their ‘democratic’ elections. It's a nightmare. If all these nuances are taken into account, then who knows what will happen there,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said. “But if Trump wins... Everyone can say nice things when campaigning. But speaking is one thing while solving issues is a whole another story. The machine in the United States works and no president will be able to go against this machine. Because his powers are different than, for example, those of Lukashenko or Putin.”

At the same time, the head of state believes that Donald Trump is more decisive and can make decisions in defiance of those who control the situation. “He will have to fulfill his promises to end the war (in part, if not in full). He put it too directly: ‘I would end the war in a day.’ We will root for him. We would like to see him come to power and stop the NATO machine, which is fighting against Russia today, within a day,” Aleksandr Lukashenko added.

Latushko, Tikhanovskaya, and other scoundrels. Who will be denied the right to pardon?

The president also explained the reason behind his decision to pardon Roman Protasevich and Sofia Sapega.

“As for Roman Protasevich, everything is clear here. Certain conditions were set before him. Keeping in mind what happened before and after, we agreed he would do some things and we would do other things. This guy did everything he’d promised. He did it not because he wanted to save his life or avoid going to jail. No. He was convinced: he confessed that he had acted in error. We checked: he had not fought on the frontline, he had not killed anyone,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.

The situation with Sofia Sapega was different. She is a Russian citizen and there were plans to extradite her to Russia before the trial. But the process was taking too much time, the head of state said. In his words, Sofia Sapega’s parents were kept in the loop.

“Some say, she fell in love and decided to get involved. Yes, she is guilty. But she is not our citizen. We have plenty of our own. They were planning to move her to Russia for about six months and didn’t go for it. The red tape was not on our side,” the president said. “And from the moral point of view: she fell in love with a guy, who was pardoned and released. Why does the girl have to stay in jail?”

When Governor of Russia’s Primorye Territory Oleg Kozhemyako arrived in Belarus, the decision was taken to pardon Sofia Sapega so that she could return home.

Aleksandr Lukashenko also responded to those, who criticize him for pardoning Sofia Sapega: “I hear you. I respect your opinion. But, believe me, you do not know everything. I have never been a traitor and I will go the whole way. There will never be any pardoning for Tikhanovskaya, Latushko and the rest. Because they have brought so much harm to the country. They are the ones with the most guilt. After all, we see in detail how they lure some of our people who are willing to do anything to earn a little extra, to get a drink, to get high and so on. They talk about the Kalinovsky Regiment. It comprises fewer than 200 fighters, maybe 100 today. A lot of them have been killed. They are in shock: ‘I want to go back. I will live in dictatorship’. But they cannot go back because anti-retreat forces don’t let them, they are behind them.”

“These organizers like Tikhanovskaya, Latushko receive millions in money. We see it, too. They pocket this money and send these fools to the frontline or to Belarus to commit sabotage attacks. Who is most to blame? These bastards. They will never be forgiven, because they have blood on their hands. They will be held responsible for this,” the head of state said.

The president recalled that a special commission had been set up in Belarus to help self-exiled oppositionists return home. “If we launched this process, we must apply it on a comprehensive basis,” he added. “If they represented a threat for us and there was a danger of the year 2020 repeat, then, of course, I would never have gone for it.”

Stupidity, nonsense, and lies. Should anyone believe rumors concerning Lukashenko’s health?

While talking to reporters, Aleksandr Lukashenko also responded to a personal question about the state of his health and commented on rumors about the disease he had dealt with: “Everything that has been written is a terrible lie. I just had to work through it. Though it’s better to take time off when you catch a disease.”

The president had previously revealed that he had had an adenovirus. This is a fairly common disease. “Not as contagious as the coronavirus, but there is nothing good and pleasant about it. Specialists told me that a person takes a long time to recover completely from it. Maybe three months... Everything that media reported was a lie. They reported that I was taken to the Central Clinical Hospital [of Moscow] and other things. I don’t even know where this Central Clinical Hospital is. This is utter nonsense. If I did need help, Putin would have a dozen doctors from the same Central Clinical Hospital sent to me within a few hours,” the head of state said.

“This is why all of it is a lie and you shouldn’t trust it. I was on my feet, running, jumping, and even playing hockey. But I realized that working through it was not a good idea because recovery takes longer. This is what happened to me,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said. “Don't worry, I'm very much alive and intend to stay that way!”

“A BIT OF A SCOOP”. What did Aleksandr Lukashenko talk about in an interview with Skabeyeva?

Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko had a talk with the Russian TV presenter Olga Skabeyeva on 13 June. Unlike many recent interviews this one did not take place in the Palace of Independence. As reporters say, the interview took place on the move and in an unusual setting: at a defense industry enterprise. The theme of the interview matched the venue: the questions primarily focused on the military and political situation, on Belarus-Russia cooperation in this sphere, on shipments of weapons and joint actions in response to threats, on the conflict in Ukraine and ways to resolve it. Aleksandr Lukashenko’s answers demonstrated his usual sincerity and directness and sometimes harshness when threats to the country were mentioned. “It is a bit of a scoop,” the Telegram channel Pul Pervogo wrote in anticipation of the publication of fragments of the interview.

 

Lukashenko’s prophetic words, which Russians initially laughed about

Aleksandr Lukashenko stressed that Belarus and Russia honor all the commitments concerning military affairs. “It was long time ago when Putin and I had some arguments. Remember the times when Belarus and Russia had gas, oil, milk disputes? I told Putin once then that we should not fight against each other. That time would come when we would have to stand back to back and fire back. What do we see today? Today we are standing back to back and firing back,” the head of state noted.

Speaking about Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine, Aleksandr Lukashenko pointed out that Russia’s leadership, including Vladimir Putin, have never asked Belarus to join the combat operations. Yet Aleksandr Lukashenko stated right away that Belarusians would not allow anyone to shoot Russians in the back. “It is our role in this war,” he reminded.

In turn, Olga Skabeyeva remarked: “We’ve lived through different times. You just said this yourself. But everyone in Russia is eternally grateful to you. Sometimes there is a feeling that Russia is up against not just the NATO bloc. Fifty-one states are helping Ukraine. When you have such a brother, a friend, a comrade, it is certainly worth a lot.”

The president said: “There is nothing unusual here. We have a treaty with the Russian Federation under which we essentially have a single army. We used to argue with each other on all fronts, but the armed forces always remained united. We stick to and fulfill everything that is spelled out in our plan. The plan is not a secret, we have told the West about it.”

 

DIPLOMATIC SOLITAIRE. Who will Belarus always welcome and who does Belarus disagree with?

On 15 June Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko accepted credentials from ambassadors of nine foreign states: Ghana, Iran, South Korea, Mauritania, Mexico, Panama, Tajikistan, Thailand, and Ecuador.

The ceremony took place in the Palace of Independence ahead of two dates of significance for the Belarusian nation – the Day of National Remembrance of the Victims of the Great Patriotic War (22 June) and Independence Day (3 July). Considering this historical experience, Belarus speaks positively in favor of a multipolar, fair, and safe world with development guarantees for all countries. Meanwhile, the West is busy destroying the European security system, which was created after World War Two.

“The United Nations has turned from a civilized dialogue platform designed to resolve disputes and discuss the future development of the world into a diplomatic casino run by Western tycoons,” the president said. “They run it for now. They are trying to slow down the development of individual countries and entire regions and NATO strike forces are deployed on the borders with those who disagree.”

Belarus strongly disagrees with this scenario, said Aleksandr Lukashenko. “Where are all those international organizations that see it all - the UN, OSCE, the Council of Europe, IMF and the World Bank, while we have been strangled with illegal sanctions for three decades in a row?” the president asked a rhetorical question.

“Nationalist formations consisting of various scoundrels undergo intensive training in Ukraine. The West openly declares that it intends to use them to overthrow the legitimate authorities in Belarus by force of arms,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.

As an independent and responsible member of the international community Belarus makes a significant contribution to the system of international and regional security, the president said.

“We are ready for a dialogue on cooperation with any country that respects the choice of the Belarusian people and recognizes the sovereignty and independence of our state. So are you,” he said. “I emphasize: a dialogue on the basis of equality and mutual benefit. Belarus is always open and hospitable to those who are open and sincere with us. It is on these principles that we have traditionally developed and continue developing contacts with all our partners.”

"For many years Belarus has been kind of a sanctuary of peace and stability. You will soon see that yourselves,” the head of state said to the diplomats. “I believe it is comfortable to live and work in such conditions.” Although he did not rule out the possibility that the diplomats may have heard a lot of negative things about Belarus. “My key interest, my biggest interest is for you to get to know our country better. So that you could see with your own eyes how we live. And I am sure that when you see all this, you will be amazed at the difference between things in reality and the way they are sometimes presented, primarily by the West and the United States of America,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.

 

HUMAN RESOURCES ARE THE KEY no matter how hard they try to trivialize these words

On Friday, 16 June Aleksandr Lukashenko held a government conference to discuss the improvement of personnel management. A large number of representatives of the Belarus President Administration, the central government, and the parliament, oblast governors, and the president’s aides in charge of individual oblasts took part in the discussion.

“We are going to discuss the most important issue today. Human resources. As a classic put it, it is the key factor. It is truly so. It is the truth no matter how hard they have been trying to trivialize these words recently,” the president said to set the tone of the discussion.

Why is the president dissatisfied with the personnel management system?

According to the president, Belarus has a well-organized system of state administration: the government regulates economy, the Belarus President Administration takes care of ideology, personnel issues, legal oversight and preparation of regulations by the head of state, and oblast governors supervise all these functions in regions, cities and districts.

“All the responsible officials have been identified. If you ask me if I am satisfied with the established system of personnel management, I will say no right away,” the Belarusian leader said. According to him, this pertains first of all to the performance of the Belarus President Administration, although the matter of personnel policy, of course, is wider and involved everyone attending the meeting.

“We have a legal framework and good practices. But time marches on, and we have to improve our personnel management policy, and maybe even the whole system,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.

Improvement of the HR policy is a complex multilevel task, which involves both manufacturing and social sides. “I am not going to discover America here if I emphasize that the situation remains most stable at the enterprises which undertake all possible measures to retain personnel, including young specialists,” the head of state said. The Belarusian leader is convinced that an effective employee retention strategy should include both the best practices of the Soviet period and modern approaches.

“Unfortunately, we still have those who work using a band-aid approach. They don’t have time to create attractive social and living conditions and they don’t know how to communicate with the employees, and sometimes they simply do not want to,” the head of state said.

Uncoordinated personnel movements. Who will bear responsibility for it?

According to the president, some representatives of municipal authorities do not understand the depth of the issue and do nothing. “With this attitude, even our most ambitious economic plans will remain on paper, and, of course, I cannot let it happen. When analyzing the situation, back in October 2022 I pointed out this problem and instructed the President Administration and the government to introduce a personnel relocation coordination system starting with the oblast administration and ending with the bottom level,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said and wondered how efficient it was at the local level and whether all the necessary measures had been taken.

“Heads of municipal authorities and organizations are gradually coming to understand that their responsibility for personnel management results will only be increasing. Yet, they have not started working to the full. Oblast administrations still fail to ensure proper control over the activities of district and city administrations. We still see a lot of red tape and a lack of executive discipline,” the head of state pointed out shortcomings.

Reeducation of bad managers. Mission impossible?

The rotation of poor-performing managers from one executive post to another was another matter worth discussing, Aleksandr Lukashenko noted. According to him, the President Administration informed him about such facts. “Where are your decisions?” Aleksandr Lukashenko asked. “You are responsible for efficient HR work. Why do you keep complaining to me? Once again you make me talk about it and take measures. Make suggestions!” the head of state stressed, adding that the rotation of poor-performing managers from one post to another is akin to corruption.

He noted that back in 2014 Ordinance No.5 banned the employment of persons previously dismissed on discrediting grounds for executive positions. The president has been informed that control over this work has been put in place, although, as Aleksandr Lukashenko noted, there is still some work to be done in this area. “I’m afraid that if I decide to delve into the state of affairs in this area, as I did in healthcare, then, Igor Petrovich [Sergeyenko, head of the Belarus President Administration] and many others may lose their jobs,” the president said.

"Some executives are starting to go easy when they have to fire underperforming executives, to put it mildly. They’ve even started falsifying the grounds for their dismissal providing a chance for fail officials to ‘pop up’ again in senior offices, as if nothing had happened. They want to be good to everyone," Aleksandr Lukashenko said. “Engaging in some kind of liberalism is not a statesman approach. This is covering up for each other. The responsibility here lies with the oblast governors and heads of city and district administrations,” the president added.

“Performance is the main thing in personnel assessment. If there is an instruction to implement one investment project in every district, then do it. If you fail to implement it, you have nothing to do there,” the president stressed. “They say to me the head of a district administration is not up to the job a little. They say they will give him a reprimand and will re-educate him. Listen, what are you talking about? Who are you going to re-educate? He is in his 40s, 50s, and you want to re-educate him. If the person holds such a position (this also applies to governors, members of the central government - all officials), and if this person does not produce results, what do you expect from him? The further it goes, the worse it will be.”

Participants of the government conference discussed personnel management, the situation on the labor market, the creation of new jobs and conditions for personnel retention, including in the countryside. Participants of the conference suggested their proposals. The president gave instructions to summarize them in order to work out a comprehensive legal document on a personnel management system or amend the effective legislation if necessary.

Yet Aleksandr Lukashenko stressed that the key thing is not new acts of legislation however brilliant they may be but for everyone to do their jobs in a responsible manner.