News
Russia vs Ukraine: Belarus deputy defence minister has just resigned, says he cannot support invasion
The deputy minister of defence for Belarus has reportedly submitted his resignation and claimed he cannot support the current Russian invasion of Ukraine..
Major General Viktor Gulevich, who is also the chief of the general staff, argued that Belarusian military unit personnel refused to take part in hostilities and that the Armed Forces of Belarus could not complete a single battalion group.
Mr Gulevich is among a number of Belarusian officials facing economic sanctions from the UK government because of their closeness with Vladimir Putin.
He was accused of directing joint military exercises with Russia, and consenting to the deployment of Russian troops along the border of Belarus with Ukraine – which, the UK government claimed, ‘directly contributed to Russia’s ability to attack Ukraine’.
The UK Foreign Office previously said the Belarusian military has ‘supported and enabled the Russian invasion of Ukraine’ by allowing Russian troops to build up on its border with Ukraine.
A scan of Mr Gulevich’s statement, which was reportedly addressed to the current Minister of Defence Viktor Khrenin, added: ‘Conducting explanatory work with the commanders of military units did not yield results. I have the courage to assume that the replacement of the commanders of these military units, who could not organise the formation of groups on the ground, will not give us the result we need.
‘In view of the above, I ask for your decision regarding the acceptance of my resignation.’
A picture of the letter was shared by former Deputy Defence Minister of Ukraine Alexander Nosov