Combat readiness of Belarusian Armed Forces is not high enough, former Defense Minister Kazlowski says

The level of combat capability of the Belarusian Armed Forces is not high enough, said Pavel Kazlowski, Belarus’ defense minister between April 1992 and July 1994 who turned 70 on March 9, BelaPAN said.

“When Leanid Maltsaw was defense minister [between October 1995 and November 1996 and between March 2001 and December 2009], he severely criticized me, alleging that I slandered the army,” Mr. Kazlowski said in an interview with BelaPAN. “I’ve never slandered it. I just cannot help but be concerned about what’s going on. When the commander-in-chief [Alyaksandr Lukashenka] claims that the Belarusian army is combat fit and is ready to repulse any aggressor, and that we’ll give a harsh response if Europe crosses the red line, I don’t understand what the president means by this. How can we harshly respond to Europe?”

“Actually, the Belarusian army is not combat ready,” Mr. Kazlowski said. “It is financed according to the residual principle. They have raised military pay, but this is not essential for combat capability. It is necessary to repair and maintain equipment and purchase new equipment, but money is not provided for this purpose.”

“Ideally, the government should gather smart people, including researchers and army officers, and make a strategic decision with regard to what kind of army Belarus needs, what structure and strength it should have, whether it is time to have a professional army, and what threats the state really faces,” Mr. Kazlowski said. “Unlike in Ukraine, there is no free housing construction for the military in our country and an officer cannot finance housing construction for him with what he is paid. That’s why many officers quit military service. A very high official, whose name I won’t disclose, told me that some 700 new graduates join the army every year and some 700 young officers quit the army in three years. This is a terrible figure. That’s why there is no reason to say that the level of combat capability is high. I don’t gloat over this. I speak with concern about this. The Investigative Committee has recently ousted the military intelligence directorate from its building on Frunze Street in Minsk. This reveals the attitude [of the Belarusian leadership] to the army. The intelligence directorate had extremely valuable communications and other equipment there. Was there not another building in town for the Committee? This is a disgrace, a slap in the face for the army. There are a lot of such instances.”