State Secretary of Belarus’ Security Council: Belarusians do not threaten anyone, but are ready to protect their country
The formation of a manoeuvre group has been completed in the Mozyr border guard detachment, and the State Secretary of Belarus’ Security Council, Lieutenant General Aleksandr Volfovich, got acquainted with the capabilities of the newly created combat unit
The task of reviving rapid response units in border groups and detachments was set by the President of Belarus, Aleksandr Lukashenko, in 2018. This powerful and mobile reserve is able to quickly cover the desired section of the border in case of an aggravation of the situation. The Mozyr border guard detachment is the youngest unit in the system of border service agencies responsible for the inapproachability of the borders on the once quiet 370km section of the Belarusian-Ukrainian border. As noted by Mr. Volfovich, the current situation there is alarming.
“At the moment, there are over 500,000 anti-personnel and anti-tank mines on the Ukrainian-Belarusian border, almost all bridges have been destroyed, and checkpoints have been closed. Ukrainian border guards often serve drunk, point weapons towards the territory of the Republic of Belarus, allow entry into our border territory and violation of airspace by quadcopters,” the State Secretary said.
Mr. Volfovich recalled that, not so long ago, Ukrainian and Belarusian border guards performed tasks shoulder to shoulder, and residents of the border territories visited each other easily, “We were and remain fraternal peoples, but Ukraine has become a bargaining chip for the collective West. Even before the start of the special military operation, the political leadership joined the sanctions that the West had imposed against Belarus, closed the airspace and banned flights of our civil aviation through the territory of Ukraine, violating all norms of international law.”
The State Secretary also noted that there is unrest now on the western borders of the country, and the idea of creating manoeuvrable units is not new. When creating them, the State Border Committee relied on the existing experience of the KGB border troops of the USSR and the already available experience of the special military operation in Ukraine. The group is equipped with all necessary equipment, and modern Volat vehicles produced by the Minsk Wheeled Tractor Plant are its main combat vehicle. They are equipped with a combat functional module and intended for use as a combat, operational and tactical transport vehicle for special purposes.
The Chairman of the State Border Committee, Major General Konstantin Molostov, the Deputy State Secretary of the Security Council, Major General Aleksandr Neverovsky, the Deputy Chairman of the Gomel Regional Executive Committee, Andrei Baranovsky, Bishop Leonid of Turov and Mozyr, as well as veterans of the border guards also got acquainted with the capabilities of the unit and the living conditions of military personnel.
Following the visit, Aleksandr Volfovich noted the high level of combat readiness of the personnel, as well as the effective organisation of border protection, “Border protection has always been an honourable and difficult task, and its servicemen are people with a strong character and will. Peace is the most precious value today, and the purpose of people in uniform is to protect the country and its citizens, to ensure peace and order. Even our anthem begins with such lines: ‘We, Belarusians, are peaceful people’. We are not threatening anyone, but we are ready to defend our country!”
