According to a report by the Russian state news agency, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has disclosed, that if Russia collapses, a catastrophe will take place.
Lukashenko made these remarks at the ceremony of presenting generals’ epaulettes to employees of law enforcement agencies in Minsk, the Belarusian capital.
Alluding to the Wagner Group’s short-lived mutiny in Russia over the weekend, he averred, “If Russia collapses, we all will perish under the debris.”
He added that “the West would instantly take advantage of the turmoil if it started in Belarus and Russia.”
Lukashenko divulged that it was “painful” for him to watch the armed uprising instigated by the Wagner mercenary in Russia over the weekend.
“I won’t hide it; it was painful to watch the events that took place in the south of Russia. Not only for me. Many of our citizens took them to heart. Because the Fatherland is one.”
President Alexander Lukashenko
The Belarusian President admitted that all parties involved, himself included, had initially underestimated the danger of the situation escalating, believing instead that it could be resolved. Putin and Prigozhin had “collided,” he said. “In this case, there are no heroes,” he added.
Also, Lukashenko averred that all the armed forces in Belarus including the police and special forces were put on “full combat readiness” after what happened in Russia.
“History remembers. Belarusians know how to defend their land. We have been and will be stronger than any challenges,” Lukashenko said.
Despite widespread corruption within the Belarusian armed forces and security services, and the general disdain of the Belarusian population, Lukashenko claimed that Belarus has the “technical capabilities” to confront the West.
“We were assigned the mission of preserving the peace won by millions of lives of heroes, our fathers and grandfathers,” Lukashenko said.
“This means only one thing. We must be stronger than the threat that once again hangs a shadow over our land,” he iterated.
Lukashenko, a close Putin ally, brokered a deal which resulted in the end of the Wagner mutiny. According to the deal, Wagner Chief, Yevgeny Prigozhin will move to Belarus. Lukashenko did not immediately address Prigozhin’s fate in his speech.
Jet Associated With Prigozhin Lands In Belarus
A jet linked to the Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin has arrived in Belarus, believed to be carrying him to exile.
According to a report by a news agency, flight tracking website, Flightradar24 depicted an Embraer Legacy 600, bearing identification codes that match a plane linked to Prigozhin in U.S sanctions documents, descending to landing altitude near the Belarus capital, Minsk.
It first appeared on the tracking site above Rostov, the southern Russian city Prigozhin’s fighters captured on Saturday.
Putin said on Monday, June 26, 2023 that the Wagner fighters have to choose whether they want to sign up with the Russian Ministry of Defence, return home or go to Belarus.
“I’m sure this will be the choice of Russian warriors who realised their tragic mistake,” Putin added.
The Institute for the Study of War noted that providing the Wagner chief and his loyalists with Belarus as an apparent safe haven could be a trap.
