Lukashenko: Belarusian troops on high alert
Against the background of the rebellion of the PMC “Wagner” and its chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, all armed forces of Belarus were put on full alert. This was announced by the ruler of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko on Tuesday, June 27, at the ceremony of handing over shoulder straps to the highest officials of the Republic of Belarus.
“When the events in Russia took place, I gave all the orders to bring the army into full combat readiness. (…) During the afternoon, the army, all armed forces, including the police, special forces, were placed in full combat readiness”, – leads the words of Lukashenka state news agency BelTA.
At the same time, the ruler of Belarus said that the oppositionists who left the country allegedly published reports that they were ready to “implement another scenario of” armed rebellion “(in Belarus. – Ed.)”. However, representatives of the Kalinouski regiment, formed in March 2022 from Belarusian volunteers to protect Ukraine from the Russian invasion, according to Lukashenka, were not allowed into Belarus by “detachments”.
About the role of Belarus in the events surrounding the PMC “Wagner” rebellion and Minsk’s position on this issue, there were a lot of “fillers and insinuations”, “especially in the Russian media”, complained Lukashenka.
PMC “Wagner” campaign for Moscow
After the entry of Wagner PMC mercenaries into the Russian war against Ukraine, the head of the organization, Yevgeny Prigozhin, repeatedly criticized the head of the Russian Ministry of Defense and Russian generals scathingly, accusing them of insufficient support, incompetence and corruption .
On 23 June, Prigozhin accused the Russian Ministry of Defense of bombing PMC positions and sent mercenaries to Moscow. The next day, PMC fighters, not meeting serious resistance, took control of military installations in Rostov-on-Don and Voronezh. On the night of June 24, Prigozhin announced the return of the Wagner units to the campaign fields. In turn, the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation, Dmitry Peskov, announced that, in accordance with the agreements between Vladimir Putin and Alexander Lukashenko, Yevgeny Prigozhin “will leave for Belarus.”
Source: DW
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