Сeremony to honor graduates of higher military educational institutions and senior officers

Belarusians do not want war, but will give a resolute and tough response to any provocation, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko said at a ceremony to honor graduates of higher military educational institutions and senior officers at the Palace of Independence on 16 July.

The head of state emphasized a special significance of the event for the country: "We are honoring graduates of higher military schools and officers who have been awarded general ranks." According to the President, all these people have the high honor to reach these pinnacles of success in their profession and career in the year of the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Belarus from Nazi invaders. "This means to carry the banner of the Victory of our fathers and grandfathers through the whole life, to pass it on to our children and grandchildren," Aleksandr Lukashenko emphasized. "You are officers. In the eyes of millions of your compatriots the people in uniform are the main guarantor of the country's sovereignty and territorial integrity."

The head of state noted that the military are well aware of what is happening now in the southern and western border areas of the country. In fact, Belarusians are in the same situation as their ancestors were eight decades ago and need to stand firm and not allow the enemies to drag Belarus into the military conflict. "We have been doing everything necessary for this, up to hosting the most terrible thing - nuclear weapons," the Belarusian leader noted.

Aleksandr Lukashenko noted that Belarus is sometimes accused of escalating the situation. In fact the country ensures military security and strengthens its defense capabilities, including in order to prevent a repetition of the tragedy of 1941.

"We will continue to develop, strengthen and improve our Armed Forces, taking into account the experience of combat operations," the President assured. "Belarusians do not want war, but will give a resolute and tough response to any provocation. Each of you are aware of this. This is our principled position. We have the strength and means to fight back any aggressor," he said.

However, even the most advanced hardware is just iron without a man, Aleksandr Lukashenko stressed. The head of state assured that the training of highly professional officers, true patriots, devoted to the country and the people, will always be given the utmost attention. This year's university graduation testifies to the fact, the head of state said.

"Each of you has a decent store of knowledge and a good opportunity to show your best. You will have to do it in a really challenging situation," the President said. The graduates of higher military educational institutions will also have to implement the new approaches laid down in the National Security Concept and Military Doctrine recently adopted by the Belarusian People's Congress.

"You see how the world is rigorously turning into a global battlefield. Various kinds of battles are fought today, including mental, ideological, cyber and proxy wars. This is the reality, from which we must draw conclusions and immediately improve defensive capacities of our country and warfare methods," the head of state said.

In the near future, officers will have to look for ways to strengthen the combat capabilities of units, improve the training and coherence of command and control bodies and troops in general, train to use advanced warfare tactics. As follows from the experience of the conflict in Ukraine, the three main components are unmanned aerial vehicles, counter-battery and electronic warfare. The President believes it is necessary to learn from this experience: "We have already learned something, and we need to improve our skills. No modern war goes without this knowledge."

The task of any serviceman is to protect the Motherland, but one should also remember that behind the military are families, children, elderly and women - the whole nation, Aleksandr Lukashenko said. "They believe in us. Their faith is our strength," the head of state emphasized.

He cited the recent situation on the Belarusian-Ukrainian border as an example. "I would not say it has aggravated, but it has gone beyond the routine practice. We noticed that the Ukrainians began to concentrate some troops there. They redeployed some from the front, the most trained combat troops, to the border area," the head of state recalled. "We did not hide this information from people. We presented this information in a calm manner. But people got alarmed by it.

"We had to make certain promises to people and respond. Everyone involved in that effort is to be commended. I'm very grateful to them. But opening fire is an extreme method. Of course, we must know how to do it but it's the last resort. We must always find ways to negotiate. The military too. The situation was resolved by the military alone. We didn't involve diplomats. But we worked using the diplomatic language. We succeeded," the Belarusian leader emphasized.

The Ukrainian side also does not need war in that direction, the head of state said. "We don't need it at all. They have withdrawn their armed forces. So have we," Aleksandr Lukashenko noted.

The President emphasized once again that Belarus does not need war, but the country is ready to defend its borders if necessary: "We want no war. We will go to war only when someone comes to our land with the sword. We will do our best to use only diplomatic means to settle disputes, primarily with our neighbors."
"We offer settling our relations with Poland and Lithuania in the same way. Yet, we have seen no reciprocity. Therefore, we have to keep our ears open and keep our powder dry in the northwestern and western directions," the Belarusian leader added.

Aleksandr Lukashenko extended greetings to the graduates of military educational institutions on reaching a very important stage in their lives - graduation. The head of state also congratulated those who have received general's shoulder straps on being awarded high ranks which bear great responsibility. He expressed confidence that for everyone present at the ceremony duty, honor and Motherland are not just words, but the meaning of their life. The president wished everyone strong health, wellbeing, and great success in the service to the Fatherland. "Most importantly, I wish a strong rear for you. In the coming two years, the government will do everything to ensure you have it," the President added.

The head of state presented special letters of commendation to the students that graduated military educational institutions with high honors.

The President also presented general's shoulder straps to high-ranking officers. Major-general's shoulder straps were presented to colonels Aleksandr Bykov, Igor Kozlov, Vadim Surov and Ruslan Chekhov. Shoulder straps of the major general of internal service were conferred on Colonel of Internal Service Sergei Salanovich. Shoulder straps of the major general of justice were presented to Colonel of Justice Aleksei Aleshkevich. Head of the Gomel Customs Service Andrei Misyuchenko received shoulder straps of the state councilor of customs service, 3rd class.

At the end of the ceremony, the head of state once again extended greetings to those present at the ceremony and emphasized: "We are living in the year of the 80th anniversary of our country's liberation from fascism. We should stay worthy of the people who gave us the life we live today."

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