Expert on how Belarus will respond in case of escalation from the West: it is not going to engage in shootout
The Defence Ministry reported that the Armed Forces of Belarus are ready to use special nuclear weapons. In recent days, the Belarusian military has been honing the issues of ensuring combat duty with training nuclear munitions as part of the Belarus-Russia agreements. A deputy of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly, Director General of the National Library of Belarus Vadim Gigin, has analysed why this is being done, and how Russia and Belarus will act in the event of an escalation from Poland.
In his talk with Alfa Radio, Mr. Gigin noted, “All news about nuclear weapons that has been spread recently indicate an increase in international tension. Please, note: these are not us who are initiating it! Why are we acting in this way then [conduct exercises]? The Polish side is escalating, and they – Poland and Lithuania — are currently persecuting Belarusians who live on the territory of these countries, though many of these Belarusians are opponents of our regime. However, they are being persecuted there only because they are Belarusians, without even figuring out whether they are for or against Aleksandr Lukashenko.”
As noted by the expert, this indicates the growth of not just some kind of militaristic sentiments, but real fascism. According to Mr. Gigin, it is fascism when Belarusians or Russians are being persecuted only because of their nationality.
“At the same time, we can see how Poland is relocating its troops closer [to Belarus’ border], and how Lithuania is deploying foreign troops,” he noted. “Look, the European Union is generally calm about the situation on the border, while Poles are declaring the so-called new wave of provocations, and so on. However, statistical figures hardly show any provocations. Moreover, Belarus does not say: lift the sanctions, otherwise we will send numerous refugees to you, or let's go to negotiations. Nobody puts such questions. Poland just needs to start guarding the border properly and establish contacts with our border guards, there will be then no wave of refugees. However, they are deliberately provoking the situation, closing border crossings, moving armoured units there, and conducting demonstrative aircraft flights – contributing to an escalation. Belarusians’ response is simple: they are not going to engage in shootout with Poland or Lithuania, and so on. The Belarusian army, in co-ordination with Russia, will strike a blow that will be unacceptable in its damage to our enemy. That's it, the answer is simple. They should know that Lukashenko will do it, because we protect our people.”
