Militia detachments, according to State Secretary of the Security Council Alexander Volfovich, will be completed if martial law is introduced in the country.
The Belarusian authorities are ready to mobilize up to 1.5 million citizens liable for military service. And if you need to transfer the economy to “military rails” – the state is able to call on 8 million people to work in the rear. This was stated on February 25 in an interview by the State Secretary of the Security Council, Lieutenant-General Alexander Volfovich, BelTA reports.
Commenting on the provisions of the law “On the People’s Militia”, the general noted that such a number of servicemen would be achieved outside the framework of the Armed Forces of Belarus and without taking into account the number of personnel in the internal power structures. And with a total population of the country of 9 million people, 8 million will work in the rear if martial law is declared in the country.
“I will reveal some secret information, the structures of the military organization of the state, not the Armed Forces, will amount to somewhere up to 1.5 million people in the event of a declaration of martial law and the transfer of the economy to war footing. And our population is over 9 million, so the remaining 8 million , of course, they will work in industry, teach, heal, grow bread,” Volfovich said.
According to him, the militia can provide support to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, namely, to fight banditry on the ground, stop looting, and impede the activities of potential sabotage and reconnaissance groups.
The military leader explained that the responsibility for the formation of the militia would be entrusted to local authorities, and the leadership of the detachments would be entrusted to the regional bodies of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. In other words, the militia units will assist the security forces in maintaining public order under martial law.
Volfovich also noted that the law is adopted in a very timely manner, as in the current military-political situation, Belarus is faced with new challenges and risks. Therefore, the mobilization of the overwhelming population of the country, the general believes, should be within the framework of the law.
“The old axiom is that wars are not won by armies, wars are won by peoples. Therefore, if necessary, all the people must stand up to defend their fatherland, and for this they should have the opportunity. This should be, let’s say, legalized,” the military leader noted.
Earlier it was reported that according to the analysts of the Institute for the Study of War, the Kremlin is preparing a series of provocations in order to involve Belarus in the war against Ukraine. This is due to the statement of Alexander Lukashenko, who on February 16 said that Belarus would enter the war only in the event of an attack from Ukraine.
