Will the mobilization be officially announced in Belarus, are there any signs of it now, in what form it might take place and what do those likely to be affected say?
After announcing “partial mobilization” in Russia, rumors began to appear that similar actions should be expected from official Minsk. Is mobilization possible in Belarus?
What will be the Belarusian mobilization
Again recently, Alexander Lukashenko raised the issue of “mobilization” on October 4 at a meeting on military security issues. His reasoning on this topic was ambiguous: denying the very need for mobilization in Belarus, Lukashenka called for organizing work to train reservists.
“Through the military registration and enlistment offices, we have checked and will continue to check the conscripts and those in our reserves. It is necessary in every district, without any hubbub, without noise, to do as I have commanded you. their presence and clarify all our materials, lists and documents in military registration and enlistment offices,” said Alexander Lukashenko.
At the same time, he accused the opposition of spreading rumors about a possible mobilization: “They are starting to seize on all kinds of factors: Russia has announced mobilization, which means that Belarus will will announce the mobilization tomorrow. I emphasize again: we do not need to declare the mobilization. Fortunately, there is no war on the territory of Belarus “.
Lukashenka also believes that the lesson of the mobilization in Russia is that “many of them have forgotten what weapons are,” and therefore in Belarus they intend to train reservists and territorial defense troops in this regard. “This applies to both women and men. They must master at least small arms to protect, God forbid something happens, their family,” ordered Alexander Lukashenko.
The Belarusian military registration and enlistment offices clarified the lists
If Lukashenka refuses to use the very word “mobilization” in the current conditions, then his subordinates regularly do so. Speaking to state media representatives, Secretary of the Security Council Alexander Volfovich said that Belarus needs “mobilization reviews”, where conscripts will be called up within 25-30 days. “This is a completely normal training exercise and, if necessary, I think our people will stand up for their country,” Volfovich believes.
Apparently, the authorities of the citizens of Belarus are preparing for such gatherings. According to DW, those who have served in the army or are registered in the military are already noticing themselves from military commissariats.
As a resident of one of the cities in the Brest region, Sergei, said, he received a call from the military registration and enlistment office and was invited to come to clarify some data: “The call was not issued, there is a regular phone call, but my relatives immediately worried that this would be just an excuse to pick me up. As a result, Sergey decided to go to the military registration and enlistment office with things prepared that for the collection, but everything worked out: he was only asked about the composition of the family and what specialties he did after serving in the army.
Another DW interlocutor, who identified himself as Aleksey, said that he works for a large Belarusian enterprise and was recently called to the personnel department: “It turns out that a paper from the military registration and enlistment office came there and they were looking at the lists of everyone who was considered liable for military service. I still don’t understand why this was done, but the guys and I talked about it and decided that it might be related to the war in Ukraine.” So far, the story of the visit to the personnel department has no other consequences for Alexei.
Will the authorities decide on a real mobilization?
Mobilization fees in 2022 have already been implemented in various regions of Belarus. So, at the end of June, they were organized for the military reserve in the Gomel region, which directly borders Ukraine. Then it was officially reported that officers, warrant officers and reserve sergeants were mainly called for the training camp to “train their skills and update their knowledge, including fire training.”
Viktor, an engineer from one of the Gomel factories, was also a participant in those training camps, and he noticed that there were no special changes compared to the previous mobilization steps: types of weapons, etc. army equipment”.
He also believes that the current compilation of lists for military registration and enlistment offices hardly indicates preparations for mobilization: “I think this is a normal occurrence, and the authorities want to clarify who really is in the country among those liable for military service wave of migration, and departure, people were not removed from the military register.
Viktor himself does not believe that the country will announce the mobilization in its classic form: “It may be secret and called differently, but the example of Russia shows that our authorities are unlikely to take such a step . As a result of the Ukrainian events in Belarus, anti-war sentiments are very strong and the authorities have to rely on it.”
In the army of Belarus – training again
Unlike the mobilization, which mainly affects those in reserve, the Belarusian army itself is constantly preparing for a negative scenario. One of the officers of the military unit, stationed in Brest, said on condition of anonymity that new sudden exercises await the army formations.
“If earlier we knew about the trips to the training area many months in advance and the work was according to the plan, now they are trying not to advertise the exercises. The indoctrination of military personnel is increasing also, which also does not add peace to us and our families,” said the source.
Source: korrespondent
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.