The journalist emphasized that the army of Belarus is not ready for real hostilities, and Putin cannot trust the Belarusian military.

The editor-in-chief of “Beloruska Pravda” publication Ilya Dobrotvir said that the self-proclaimed president of Belarus Oleksandr Lukashenko will not take direct part in the war against Ukraine in the near future.

On the FREEDIM broadcast, he noted that the Belarusian army is not ready for real hostilities and has no motivation to fight because of poor pay. The journalist added that “according to all estimates, the Belarusian army is not combat-ready.”

If you compare the salary even in peacetime of a serviceman of the Russian and Belarusian army, it differs by an order of magnitude. And if the Russians run to attack, the Belarusians will go,” explained Dobrotvir.

According to the journalist, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin does not count on the Belarusian military as a fighting force. He benefits from Belarus as a springboard for launching airstrikes on the territory of Ukraine.

“I think that Putin and those close to him understand very well that they cannot trust the Belarusian military and Belarusians in general. I will remind you of the story of Mogilev (Mogilev Uprising of 1661, — ed.), when the head of the city came out and said: “Time!” several hours were cut of all Russians in Mogilev. This is eastern Belarus, what can we say about western Belarus. And knowing this history, Putin perfectly understands that Belarusian soldiers cannot be trusted. They will shoot in the back,” he is convinced.

Threat of invasion from Belarus: what is known

According to the State Border Service of Ukraine, as of December 28, 2022, there were more than 10,000 Russian soldiers on the territory of Belarus. However, this number is not enough to start a new invasion of Ukraine.

The commander of the group of forces and means of defense of the capital, Lieutenant General Oleksandr Pavlyuk, emphasized that in the event of an attempt by the Russian Federation to re-attack Kyiv from Belarus, the Russian troops, together with the Belarusians, will see “many surprises” prepared for them by the Ukrainian defenders.

Military expert Oleksandr Musienko believes that the Russian invaders can attack Ukraine from two directions at once – from the east and the north. Several tasks were set before the Russians. He noted that Belarus can become an auxiliary direction to divert our forces and funds from other areas of the front.