Russia can use part of the Belarusian military-industrial complex as part of the efforts of Moscow to re-equip the Russian army for the war with Ukraine, analysts at the American Institute for Studying War (ISW).
Minsk is forced to make concessions to avoid the direct participation of the Belarusian military in the war, they pointed out in ISW.
on the eve of the President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko, at a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, said that Belarus was ready to establish the production of Su-25. This plane, according to him, “shows itself well in Ukraine – an attack aircraft, a workhorse.”
in ISW believe that additional Su-25 and spare parts for trucks cannot be called critical for the success of long-term military operations. However, the Kremlin can requisition Belarusian plants and convert them to produce equipment, which the Russian military really needs, allows analysts. In addition, Russia may try to reprofile its plants for the production of more necessary equipment by transferring the production of the Su-25 to Belarus.
ISW believes that the Kremlin exerts steadily pressure, achieving closer integration of the two states, which the Belarusian president” historically resisted “. Lukashenko, on the other hand, goes to small concessions, which he refused to do for years, the authors summarize. They consider these “belated concessions” by a sign of its determination to prevent the direct participation of the Belarusian troops in the war against Ukraine.