Lukashenko reshuffled the leadership of the Belarusian army following a visit by the Russian defense minister

On October 22, Belarus’s self-proclaimed president, Alexander Lukashenko, appointed new commanders of the Special Operations Forces and the Western and Northwestern Operational Commands. The reshuffles took place on the day Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov visited Minsk.

Colonel Vladimir Safonov took command of the Special Operations Forces, while his predecessor, Alexander Ilyukevich, became commander of the Western Operational Command. Major General Alexander Lavrenov took command of the Northwestern Operational Command.

During Lukashenko’s meeting with Belousov, they discussed military cooperation between Russia and Belarus, the development of joint military infrastructure, a unified air defense system, and combat training.

Belousov stated the need for “preemptive actions” in response to the international situation, but did not specify any concrete measures.

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

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko 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.