Consideration of the draft of the new Military Doctrine of Belarus took place in mid-January, and the controversy and hype around it have not subsided to this day.
It should be recalled that on January 16 this year, at a meeting of the Security Council, the President of Belarus was presented with a draft of the country's new Military Doctrine. As a result of the discussion, it was decided to finalize the document, and subsequently submit the draft for approval by the All-Belarusian People's Assembly, which will be held in April this year.
It is noteworthy that the text of the new version of the doctrine has not yet been published, and therefore interested persons have to closely monitor the speeches and statements of those who were involved in the development of the document. Our Western non-partners are also present among the "interested" ones. It is characteristic that the special attention of the "democratic" media was attracted by those parts in the content of the doctrine that relate to allied obligations and nuclear weapons on the territory of Belarus.
For example, the Voice of America, with reference to the Washington Post, categorically designated key places "for everyone". "The concept focuses on Minsk's close allied relations with Moscow. Also, for the first time, the possibility of using tactical nuclear weapons is provided," the publication reports. He is echoed by the website of the Polish-American TV channel specializing in negative coverage of events taking place in Belarus, and whose future Prime Minister Tusk has not yet definitively decided. "Judging by the public statements of the security forces, the most important changes will relate to nuclear weapons, relations with allies and sources of threats," the website says.
As they say, "who has what hurts." Otherwise, it would have been noticed that through all the speeches of Belarusian officials, the refrain was the thought: the draft updated Military doctrine takes into account the changed situation, contains a number of innovations, but generally retains continuity and the main message about the peaceful nature of the Belarusian people. The Minister of Defense of Belarus, Lieutenant General Viktor Khrenin, replied to journalists during a briefing: "An important message of the new Military Doctrine is that the Republic of Belarus does not treat any nation as its enemy, regardless of the actions of the governments of these states."
On the other hand, the reaction of the enemies convincingly confirmed the correctness of the fact that the most frightening issues to the West were systematized and included in the draft of the new doctrine in separate chapters.
Artyom Butorin, head of the information and analytical department of the Belarusian General Staff, told about this in an interview with STV TV channel. The representative of the military department, speaking about the appearance in the doctrine of the chapter on the allied obligations of Minsk, noted that "all the provisions that are currently enshrined in international treaties ratified by us with our allies, including within the framework of international organizations, are brought together there." "It was on the surface. Different things were written in different documents. In the military doctrine, we accumulate this and holistically, comprehensively prescribe our attitude to how we view our alliance with strategic partners," he explained. "There will definitely be a provision in the Military Doctrine that stipulates that an attack on any state allied to us will be considered an attack on the Republic of Belarus," Butorin added.
It should be recalled that the readiness of the Republic of Belarus to fulfill its allied obligations to protect the Union State, as well as the CSTO member states, has been repeatedly stated "from the highest rostrums." Most recently, on January 27, speaking during the opening ceremony of the Memorial Complex in memory of Soviet civilians – victims of the Nazi genocide during the Great Patriotic War, President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko said: "We cannot change the past, but we can protect the future. May this memorial preserve our common historical memory, the brotherhood of peoples and the strength of the indestructible unity of nations that rallied in the fight against world evil and defeated it. This is very important for us today." These words can be considered as confirmation that in Belarus the strict fulfillment of the allied duty belongs to existential issues.
As you know, only those words that are confirmed by deeds arouse trust. Therefore, since the autumn of 2021, a joint regional grouping of Belarusian and Russian troops has been deployed in Belarus and is increasing its readiness to perform tasks for its intended purpose. The latest S-400 anti-aircraft missile systems have been deployed and are on combat duty for air defense on the western borders of the Union State, combat crews of Belarusian rocket scientists are improving their skills in using the Iskander missile defense system. Joint combat training centers (UBCS) are successfully operating on the territory of Belarus to train specialists necessary for the Russian and Belarusian armies. The process of deploying Russian tactical nuclear weapons on the territory of Belarus as an element of strategic deterrence has been completed. Units of the troops of the operational commands and the MTR of the Armed forces of Belarus have been additionally deployed on the western and southern borders of the republic, thereby providing cover for the rear of the grouping of Russian troops participating in the SVO.
By the way, taking into account the almost already begun NATO exercise Steadfast Defender-24, the cover of the western border is becoming particularly relevant. These maneuvers of the alliance are called one of the largest in Europe. More than 100,000 military personnel from 32 countries, where Poland has a key role, will take part in them. At the same time, the organizers of the maneuvers do not particularly hide the fact that Russia acts as the main enemy, according to the legend of the exercise.
Here it is appropriate to recall the words of Alexander Lukashenko, who, quite possibly, anticipating the emergence of such a situation, said: "I determined our participation in the special operation a long time ago, on the first day of its beginning, when I said that we would not allow anyone to shoot a Russian man in the back."
Vladimir Vuyachich
