Happy Defender of the Fatherland Day

Comrades soldiers, sergeants, warrant officers and officers! Respected veterans! Dear compatriots!

I congratulate you on the holiday – Defender of the Fatherland Day and the Armed Forces of the Republic of Belarus.

Since ancient times, warriors who stood up to defend our land in difficult times have been honored on our soil. Sacrificing themselves, they defended the freedom and independence of the Motherland.

It was the same 85 years ago during the dark years of the Hitler invasion. Then the Red Army, our grandfathers and great-grandfathers, saved the country and the people, breaking the backbone of the fascist beast and leaving us the legacy of the Great Victory. We must always remember this and honor the heroes' feat, because forgetting leads to the possibility of everything happening again.

We see this today, when on the border frontiers of our native Belarus, the heirs of the Nazis are once again trying to form an armored fist for an attack on the East. We all know this, monitor it and understand it. I am convinced that only a modern, mobile, well-equipped army – the kind we have been building all these years – can resist the aggressor. An army capable of cooling the ardor of any aggressor, and the guarantee of Belarus's peaceful future remains the strength of the Belarusian Armed Forces, the unity and cohesion of the people, which we must tirelessly strengthen through our work.

Wishing everyone strong health, peace, kindness and prosperity.

Happy holiday, dear friends!

Context

On February 24, Belarus celebrates Defender of the Fatherland Day and the Armed Forces, a holiday responsible for the memory of the Great Patriotic War and the country's military power.