March 26, Pozirk. The Belarusian military and border guards should respond harshly to all border violations, Alaksandar Łukašenka told officers of a tank battalion stationed in the Hrodna region’s Ašmiany district near the Lithuanian border.
“I will say it publicly: any provocation must be stopped with weapons,” his press office quoted him as saying.
“Stop playing around with them. If they violate the state border, they must be eliminated. No one should be courteous with anyone, and that’s what we’ll do. Any violation of the state border [should mean] elimination. They understand only force.”
Łukašenka is inspecting the unit during the ongoing combat readiness drill that started on March 11 in response to NATO’s Steadfast Defender, a multi-domain exercise, incorporating land, air, sea, cyber and space operations.
