Belarus Deputy Defense Minister Reportedly Quits Over Invasion of Ukraine

By Brian Freeman    |   Sunday, 06 March 2022 05:19 PM

Belarus Deputy Defense Minister and chief of general staff Maj. Gen. Viktor Gulevich has reportedly quit due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Washington Examiner reported over the weekend.

His resignation was revealed in a letter he wrote and posted online by former Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Nosov.

In it, Gulevich said he is unable to mobilize his soldiers to take part in the Russian attack on Ukraine because they do not want to participate, writing that he thus asks Defense Minister Viktor Khrenin "for your decision regarding the acceptance of my resignation," according to the Washington Examiner.

However, the Belarus government raised doubts about the authenticity of the letter and said that its military forces are "100 percent" ready to be deployed wherever they are ordered to go.

Gulevich has been personally sanctioned by the West, with the British Foreign Ministry announcing last week that this action was taken because "he has directed joint military exercises with Russia, and consented to the deployment of Russian troops along the border of Belarus with Ukraine, which has directly contributed to Russia’s ability to attack Ukraine, including from positions in Belarus," the Daily Mail reported.

Oleksiy Arestovych, the advisor to the head of the Ukrainian president's office, said that he is checking the accuracy of the reports, but denied that the Belarus army is being used in the attack on Ukraine.

However, Arestovych did acknowledge that the territory of Belarus is being utilized in the attack, with the entire system of military airfields being used to bombard Ukraine, as well as anti-tactical missiles being  launched from its territory.

Read more: Belarus Deputy Defense Minister Reportedly Quits Over Invasion of Ukraine | Newsmax.com