Lukashenko called Belarusians "Russians with a seal of quality"
Belarus’s self-proclaimed president, Alexander Lukashenko, stated on August 15 that Belarusians are “Russians with a seal of quality.”
He made this remark during a speech at the international festival “The Call of Polissya.”
“I sometimes tell Russians: ‘A Belarusian is a Russian with a seal of quality.’ Some of them even take offense at this. I say: ‘Well, you can’t go against history—why take offense?’” Lukashenko said.
He did not specify exactly what he meant by the statement about the shared identity of Belarusians and Russians.
Belarus has begun forming a new 37th Separate Airborne Assault Brigade, which will be stationed near Gomel—approximately 40 kilometers from the border with Ukraine. Alexander Ilyukevich, commander of the Special Operations Forces of the Belarusian Armed Forces, announced this on the Belarusian military television channel.
As a reminder, Lukashenko stated that Belarusian servicemen would not take part in the war against Ukraine.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte stated that one should not be naive about Belarus’s role in Russia’s war against Ukraine. According to him, Minsk is under strong influence from Moscow, and most of the Belarusian government’s decisions are effectively dictated by the Kremlin.
