ROMAN PETRENKO — SATURDAY, MARCH 26, 2022, 10:14
The soldiers of a Belarusian battalion named after Kastuś Kalinoŭski [Belarusian writer and revolutionary] have taken oaths to join the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Quote: "On this important day for Belarusian history, the oath was taken by volunteers of the Kastuś Kalinoŭski Battalion. Our battalion has become part of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
The oath was written in Belarusian by our volunteers. We are confident that in future this text will be the basis of the oath for the real Belarusian army. "
Background: The battalion was created following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
On 25 March, Belarusians celebrate Freedom Day, an unofficial national holiday, the anniversary of the first national state of Belarus, the People's Republic of Belarus (25 March 1918).
Vincent Kastuś Kalinoŭski was one of the regional leaders of the Polish January Uprising against the Russian Empire in the territories of present-day Lithuania and Belarus.
shohinbalcony on March 26th, 2022 at 13:41 UTC »
The man after whom the battalion is named was one of the leaders of the 1863-1864 rebellion in the Polish-Lithuanian commonwealth against Russian rule. Together with other leaders of the uprising, he was executed in Vilnius and secretly buried in an unmarked grave in Gediminas Hill, the symbol of Lithuanian statehood. His remains were discovered in 2017, along with those of other leaders executed on the same day, and in 2019 he was buried with military honors In Vilnius, with the presidents of Poland and Lithuania, as well as many other dignitaries, in attendance.
Accomplished-Ice-733 on March 26th, 2022 at 10:42 UTC »
Whether it’s a real military battalion or ”just volunteers” is almost irrelevant. The big news is that there will be Belarussians fighting for Ukrainians. This means that if Lukashenko would join Putin, his army would be killing his own men. Belarussian army will have even less motivation to join the war now.
People of Belarus deserve so much better than that wnb colonel Lukashenko.
marbles_in_my_dick on March 26th, 2022 at 10:40 UTC »
once the Russian government falls, maybe Lukashenko can become colonel