Belarus arms emergency ministry to be ready in case of armed conflict

The Belarusian ministry of emergency situations is completing the arming and military training of its personnel to be ready to aid the defence and internal ministries in the event of an armed conflict, the head of the emergency ministry said on Monday.
Emergency Minister Vadim Sinyavsky told state Belarus 1 television that employees will be ready to assist the ministries “in the event of an armed conflict or some kind of riots in which a significant number of personnel must be involved.”
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said earlier this year he wants “every man – and not only a man” to be able to at least handle weapons to respond to an act of aggression.
While not sending his own troops to Ukraine, Lukashenko allowed Moscow to use Belarusian territory to launch its full-scale invasion on Ukraine in February 2022.
Belarus and Russia have since held multiple joint military training exercises, and in June Lukashenko allowed his country to be used as a base for Moscow’s nuclear weapons, a move broadly condemned by the West.