Lukashenko on 'debt' and arms race

During a solemn ceremony awarding state honors and promoting generals by military rank, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko noted that Defender of the Fatherland Day is a 'holiday for those for whom duty, honor, and the Motherland' are the most important guiding principles. In his speech, he emphasized the value of people in uniform and the role of science in the country's future.

Lukashenko stated that without 'epaulettes' and science, the country 'will have nothing, including no country itself.' Continuing his speech, he warned of 'another mad arms race,' including nuclear systems, and the growing military budgets of NATO and the militarization of Europe, especially among Western neighbors.

The President noted that this year marks 85 years since the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, when great disaster came to the country, and compared the current situation with that difficult period. He stressed that the world is being actively drawn into an arms race and called on all those who live with goodwill to do everything possible to prevent a new global war.

Context

In 2023, the 85th anniversary of the beginning of the Great Patriotic War is marked, when the USSR experienced heavy combat.