Russia is putting pressure on Lukashenko on air bases in Belarus
This summer, the military of Russia and Belarus will begin carrying out joint combat duty for air defense (air defense) at one of the Belarusian airfields.
This was stated by the commander of the Air Force and Air Defense Forces of Belarus, Major General Igor Golub.
He also noted that the Belarusian military is constantly involved in joint air defense training.
Opposition Belarusian military expert Yegor Lebedok previously announced that Russia will return to its plans to place an air base on the territory of Belarus, only it will act in a different way.
“Now, in terms of expanding the Russian military presence, the topic of Russian aviation has been resurrected again. For now, the option for its implementation is the creation not of a base, but of joint air defense and air force training and combat centers with Russian aircraft and air defense systems. To what extent and when this will be implemented depends on several factors, but, analyzing military interaction for 20 years, we can say that this will definitely be implemented if Lukashenko remains in power,” Lebedok said in an interview with the Lithuanian website Delfi.
In March, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko proposed considering the issue of joint duty with the participation of Russian aircraft, using the experience of the 2014 World Hockey Championship.
In 2019, Russia offered Belarus to create its own air force base. However, Minsk rejected this proposal. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called it an “unpleasant episode.”
Russia is pressuring Lukashenko to open airbases in Belarus.