Lukashenko wants to establish armed units in every village council in Belarus

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has ordered the creation of “people’s militia” units in every rural executive committee. He made this announcement during a visit to a training session for one such unit in the Verkhnodvinsk District.

“We need to expand. We need to create more of these basic units elsewhere. They must be interconnected,” Lukashenko said. According to him, in the event of military action, Belarusians must be able to defend themselves, their families, and their communities.

Lukashenko explained that the “people’s militia” will serve as the first line of the country’s defense system. The next levels will be territorial defense, which will be responsible for protecting infrastructure, and the army. According to the Belarusian president, he himself should oversee the entire system.

“In creating this structure, I had in mind that every rural executive committee should have a people’s militia unit. That is the core. In the event of hostilities, it can be expanded… Weapons have been prepared for you. That is the military’s responsibility. You will have assault rifles, grenades, and machine guns,” Lukashenko said.

Earlier, he instructed the leadership of the Belarusian Society of Hunters and Fishermen to recruit people skilled in handling weapons into the militia units.

The creation of a “people’s militia” in Belarus began after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. At the time, the republic’s Minister of Defense, Viktor Khrenin, attributed this decision to the “military-political situation.” According to him, the formation of such units was intended to demonstrate to a potential adversary that an attack on Belarusian territory would be met with a response.

Since early 2026, the Belarusian authorities have stepped up training exercises involving law enforcement and military personnel. During these maneuvers, in particular, they practice actions under mobilization conditions, missile strikes resulting in a large number of casualties, as well as the protection of the population and territories from emergencies during wartime. This summer, exercises involving the “people’s militia” and territorial defense forces took place in the Vitebsk region.

According to sources cited by The Wall Street Journal, since the beginning of the year, Russian President Vladimir Putin has increased pressure on Lukashenko in an effort to draw him more deeply into the war against Ukraine. The publication’s sources claimed that this is linked to the Russian army’s difficulties on the front lines and its inability to capture the Donbas. According to them, the Kremlin threatened to cut off financial support to Belarus—on which its economy largely depends—if Lukashenko refused.

In addition, as the publication’s sources reported, Russia had planned to use Belarusian territory to conduct operations against NATO countries.

This is being reported by Russian propaganda media.

Lukashenko stated that it is not up to Trump to decide on the issue of the elections in Ukraine.

Trump explained why he avoids calling Putin a dictator.

As a reminder, Zelenskyy said he feels betrayed by Trump’s deal with Putin regarding diesel fuel.