‘Skin the Battalion Commanders’: Lukashenko’s Reaction to Exercises

The President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, has evaluated the quality of the live-fire exercises conducted at a training ground near Minsk as 'very poor' and promised to 'skin the battalion commanders,' according to the president's press service.

Lukashenko conducted an unexpected inspection at the 227th Combined Training Ground in the Borisov District of Minsk Region, where grenade launchers and automatic weapon exercises were taking place. The Belarusian leader explained that he wanted to personally assess the readiness of the troops for combat operations.

‘Well, let’s be honest. They are firing, they see the targets. Of course, they are nervous; the president is standing behind them. I understand that there is some anxiety. So be it; they hit some targets, while they missed others,’ concluded the president of the Republic.