Lukashenko claims to be in charge of Russian forces in Belarus
Alexander Lukashenko, the self-styled President of Belarus, claimed during the address to the Belarusian people that it is he who controls the Russian forces in the territory of Belarus, not his Russian counterpart.
Source: Byelorussian news outlet Nasha Niva
Quote: "The troops are undergoing combat training, ready to take joint efforts to protect our common security space. Stop saying Russia occupied something here. All these Russian units are training 500 Belarusian officers. Battle formation and training are ongoing. The Russian forces are providing us with armament and financial aid if needed. [They are] under our command."
Details: It is not the first time that Lukashenko expresses his indignation about a popular belief that it is not him but Vladimir Putin, President of Russia, who is in charge of the army.
Background:
- On Friday, 31 March Lukashenko claimed during the address to the Belarusian people that the NATO member states are preparing to invade the territory of Belarus.
- Lukashenko devoted a bigger part of his address not to Belarus but to the Russian war against Ukraine; many times he stressed the need for the negotiations between Zelenskyy and Putin, and made threats about nuclear weapons and Russia not yet deploying its military production to full capacity.
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