Belarusian Volunteers In Donbas: Putin Won’t Stop At Ukraine

Servicemen of Belarus tactical group are getting ready to defend their motherland in case the same scenario repeats in our country.

Ukraine’s president Petro Poroshenko has signed the law which makes it possible for foreigners to serve in the Ukrainian army. He also instructed police and migration agencies to immediately help those foreign defenders of the country who want to gain Ukrainian citizenship.

The document has become an answer of Poroshenko to the petition for admitting to citizenship those foreigners who are fighting for Ukraine in the anti-terrorist operation zone. Dozens of volunteers from Belarus, Georgia, Russia and other countries have been seeking that for many months, as their legal status is not clear so far. In particular, our fellow countrymen who are fighting for Ukraine claim that they face a prison term after return to Belarus.

Belsat TV programme Hot Comment presented Belarusian fighters in Donbas Yan Melnikau and Aliaksei Skoblia.

“We are witnessing that the war is being dragged out. And they want to turn this war into Transdniester, and volunteers do not agree to that. Why Poroshenko should give passports to the people who are hindering his plans,” Aliaksei Skoblia notes.

“We are training as Belarus tactical group. Our first aim is to defend Ukraine. But we understand that Putin is unlikely to stop at Ukraine. It is possible that the same scenario is to repeat in Belarus, that is why we train people. People come to us, they do not want to participate in a war, but they want to have skills, as the nation should know how to defend itself,” – the combatant said.

“No one from our group is going to gain Ukrainian citizenship. We have received Ukrainian residence permit. We haven’t read the new law yet, so we haven’t yet discussed it”- Yan Melnikau says.

He adds:

“We want to draw attention and to make the organization bigger. So that the guys who want to help know where to go. The nation should support its soldiers. We hold ourselves out as guys who, in case of danger, will defend the Motherland”