‘Up to mobilization’: Belarusian President Lukashenko says it’s time to ‘shake up’ Belarus’s army

Alexander Lukashenko said the Belarusian armed forces will continue undergoing readiness inspections.

“I’ve already said it in plain terms: the army needs shaking up, the time has come. The whole army. We’ll check everyone. Up to mobilization,” Lukashenko said.

Inspections have already been carried out in tank and motorized rifle units, he said, and are now underway in an artillery brigade. “We are preparing for war so that there won’t be one,” Lukashenko added.

Lukashenko said his youngest son, Nikolai, is also serving in the army. “No one even knew. Viktor [Belarusian Defense Minister Viktor Khrenin] drafted him. He’s serving in the army like everyone else, as he should. He’s a lieutenant. I won’t say where, but in the toughest unit,” Lukashenko said.

Ukrainian officials have repeatedly warned that Belarus poses a threat. In April 2026, Volodymyr Zelensky pointed to increased military activity in the neighboring country and suggested Russia might try to draw it into the war. By June, he said Belarus was nearing completion of road infrastructure and facilities for storing ammunition and fuel along the border with Ukraine. “We know that Russian documents describe this specifically in the context of the objectives of the so-called SVO,” he added.

Zelensky also demanded that Lukashenko remove the relay stations guiding Russian drone strikes along the border with Ukraine, warning, “if he doesn’t do it, we will.” Less than a week later, he said the relay stations had stopped working.