Łukašenka wants Belarus to supply parts for Russian warplanes 

February 3, Pozirk. Belarus could supply “parts and assembly units” for companies manufacturing civil and military aircraft in Russia’s Khabarovsk province, Alaksandar Łukašenka has told the province’s Governor Dmitri Demeshin at their meeting in Minsk.

“If there is such a need, we will definitely work with you,” the Belarusian ruler’s press office quoted him as saying.

A recent report by the BelPol association of former security officers implicated several Belarusian state-owned companies in the mass production of projectiles for the Russian army.

The plants involved in the production of 122 mm and 152 mm munitions are the Žhodzina-based BiełAZ heavy-duty dump truck factory and BAZcjub steel tube plant, the Žłobin-based Belarusian Steel Works (BMZ), the Barysaŭ-based BATE automobile and tractor equipment plant, the Orša-based Lehmaš plant manufacturing a range of steel and cast iron products and the Minsk-based Precision Electronic and Mechanical Equipment Plant, which manufactures dual products and repairs armaments.

A significant part of the ammunition is intended for use by Grad multiple rocket launchers, with which the Russian army shells Ukraine, BelPol said.

Several years ago, Belarusian Defense Minister Viktar Chrenin and his Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu (now the secretary of the Russian Security Council) signed a security deal which “implies Belarus’ assistance to Russia in destroying Ukraine,” the group noted.

In February 2022, Russia started a full-scale war against Ukraine with the help of authorities in Minsk that allowed Russian troops to attack Ukraine from Belarus on multiple occasions. 

Łukašenka openly supports the Russian war against Ukraine but denies direct involvement. “I’m not fighting, I didn’t get involved in the war and I didn’t drag my country [into the war],” the longtime Belarusian ruler told journalists in late January when he extended his 30-year long rule in Belarus.

“We are helping Russia and when Westerners reproach me for my actions, I tell them: you have 57 countries helping Ukraine, and I’m alone, just one country. . . As for my invasion of Ukraine, Ukrainians know that this is not true,” he said. Troops that attacked Ukraine via Belarus in 2022 “were not Belarusian troops,” Łukašenka added.

Also read: Belarusian companies produce projectiles for Russian army – report