'The time has come' — Belarus's Lukashenko inspects troops, says army 'needs shaking up'
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Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko announced the continued inspection of Belarus' armed forces for readiness, the state-owned Belarusian news agency BelTA said on Sept. 11.
"I've already said it in plain terms: the army needs shaking up, the time has come. The whole army. We'll check everyone. Up to mobilization," Lukashenko said.
Currently, an artillery brigade and communications units are being checked for readiness, after tank and motor rifle units had already been inspected, according to Lukashenko.
"We are preparing for war so that there won't be one," he said.
The tests should resemble actual battles to prepare the Belarusian troops properly, according to the dictator.
"These are the lessons of the special military operation," Lukashenko added, referring to Russia's full-scale invasion.
Lukashenko also said that his youngest son, Nikolai Lukashenko, was currently serving in the army as a lieutenant after being drafted, without revealing the unit where he serves.
Belarus is building new railway infrastructure in the country's southern Gomel region that will be capable of receiving military trains carrying personnel and heavy equipment, the Belarusian Railway Workers' Community reported on Aug. 24.
The report comes amid a buildup of military infrastructure along the Belarus-Ukraine border, leading Kyiv to warn that Moscow may be planning to draw its closest ally deeper into the full-scale war.
"The threat of a reopened northern front is intended to stretch Ukrainian forces, pulling units from their current positions along the front line," Michael Kofman, a senior fellow at the D.C.-based Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, told the Kyiv Independent.
Units of Russia's 101st Missile Brigade, which is equipped with the Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missile system, are deployed in Belarus, Ukraine's military intelligence chief Oleh Ivashchenko said in an interview published on Sept. 7.
The interview comes more than half a year after President Volodymyr Zelensky said Belarus already "fully or partially" hosts Russia's Oreshnik missile system, saying that Russia has already completed "preparatory, technical work." Zelensky described the move as a major escalation risk.
