Lukašenka does not rule out that the Russian army in Ukraine could proceed to “carpet bombings”

March 1, BPN. During a meeting with members of the Security Council and the government in Minsk on March 1, Aliaksandr Lukašenka said that the Russian army in Ukraine “operates with surgical precision, so as not to harm civilians in any way.”

A fragment of Lukašenka’s speech was published by Pul Pervogo, the unofficial Telegram channel of his press service.

“They are not conducting carpet bombings,” he said, adding: “it’s no secret that people are dying.” He believes that if Russian soldiers are killed, the command on the ground “would take down everything from where this fire comes.”

According to Lukašenka, he told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (probably during a phone conversation on February 27 – BPN): “The worst thing is if the Russians keep holding on, and then proceed, like the Americans, to carpet bombings, when everything will be destroyed, you won’t even have time to escape from Ukraine. This is the essence of this conflict today.”

Lukašenka stated that the southern part of Belarus is now guarded by border troops, five battalion tactical groups of the Armed Forces, and “plus five [groups] will be deployed soon.”

“So don’t yell and scream that we’re going to enter Ukraine from Viciebsk or from somewhere else. This is not our task,” he said.

Lukašenka accused Lithuania and Poland of dragging their weapons and military personnel to the border with Belarus, where Belarusian “border checkpoints and maneuvering groups are operating in cooperation with the police and military.” But “this is not enough,” so “it was decided to close this border [by troops] in order to prevent the invasion of NATO troops on Belarusian territory including even their smallest operations on our territory.”

He said he feared that “several groups will break in from the EU and carry out terrorist acts in order to provoke the population.”

Lukašenka also stated that “we have set up all air defense systems near the western borders.”

According to him, he also asked Vladimir Putin to supply additional S-400 surface-to-air missile systems in order to deploy them around Minsk. Similar complexes, according to him, are located in Homiel’ region.

“That’s our future involvement in this operation, and that’s what we’re doing now,” he added. “But, I repeat once again, I have not withdrawn any unit from permanent deployment. They’re ready. Everything is ready. If we need to mobilize, we’ve checked all the lists. Within two or three days we will mobilize all the units that need to be mobilized in full wartime.”