Lukashenko visits a group of Russian soldiers participating in joint exercises in Belarus

MADRID, 6 Ene. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, has paid this Friday a visit to a group of Russian soldiers who are participating in maneuvers in the surroundings of Baranovichi, where he has inspected the combat readiness of the joint troops.

Lukashenko has highlighted the experience of the Russian Army and has stressed the importance of "protecting the common homeland". "I think you will tell me more than I can tell you. It is very important for me and not only for me. This experience is very important for Belarus," he said.

"The most important and significant is that our command officers have agreed that the shortcomings be addressed, because we will have to continue working in this way, training Belarusians and Russians," he said, as reported by the Belarusian news agency BelTA. .

In this regard, he noted that the Belarusian authorities "are obtaining a lot of information and experience" from the Russian military. "Our officers have not smelled gunpowder, figuratively speaking, so (...) it is like going to school to receive a lesson for them", he has settled.

The Belarusian authorities confirmed on Monday that the military exercises carried out jointly with the Russian Army will last at least until this Sunday. These types of maneuvers date back to April 29 and seek to increase the reaction capacity of the joint forces in the face of a possible attack during the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Belarus, an ally of Moscow, has allowed the deployment of the military on its territory to support the invasion of Ukraine, unleashed on February 24, 2022 by order of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Putin ordered the start of the invasion days after recognizing the independence of the self-proclaimed republics of Donetsk and Lugansk, located in the Donbas region (east) and the scene of a conflict since 2014. Moscow announced in September the annexation of these regions and of those of Kherson and Zaporizhia, partially occupied in the framework of the conflict.