English

Lukashenka makes several military appointments

Alyaksandr Lukashenka made several military appointments on August 16, according to the presidential press office, BelaPAN reports.

In particular, the Belarusian leader appointed:

--Syarhey Patapenka as commander of the Western Operational Command of the Ground Forces instead of Alyaksandr Myazhuyew;

--Alyaksandr Valfovich as deputy commander of the Western Operational Command;

--Alyaksandr Myazhuyew as chief of the Main Military Inspectorate of the Armed Forces instead of Henadz Shawrow, who retired in April citing health reasons;

--Aleh Belakonew as commander of the Special Operations Forces instead of Lyutsyyan Surynt;

--Andrey Nekrashevich as deputy commander of the Northwestern Operational Command of the Ground Forces;

--Ihar Holub as deputy commander of the Air and Air Defense Force/aviation chief. Mr. Holub replaced Mikhail Lyavitski, who had held the position for seven years. Mr. Holub was formerly commander of the 206th Air Force Base in Lida, Hrodna region.

While talking to the appointees, Mr. Lukashenka said that the most important thing was not to "offend" their immediate predecessors. "The life of a real officer is focused on the army and connected with the army," he explained. "That is why I warned both the state secretary of the Security Council and the defense minister that everything should be humane and honest."

Mr. Lukashenka noted the need to bring down the average age of service personnel and stressed that most officers should receive training at the Military Academy of Belarus. Belarusian officers should be sent to Russia's military schools only when they need training in rare specialties, he said.

The fact that many countries send their officers to Belarusian military schools confirms the quality of the national training system, Mr. Lukashenka said.

During the meeting, Leanid Maltsaw, state secretary of the Security Council, and Defense Minister Yury Zhadobin reported to the head of state on the system's current state and development prospects and on recruitment issues. Participants also discussed measures to maintain combat readiness, keep military hardware and weapons in good repair and improve the quality of combat training and the living conditions of personnel.

Alyaksandr Lukashenka directed that arrangements be made for him to visit a number of military units soon, the press office said.