"They said 'we don't give a f***' and took them away." Belarusians are called to military training, social media erupts in outrage
On February 16, another phase of checking the combat readiness of the Belarusian army began. Now, conscripts are also being sent to military units. The number of people and the duration of their service are unknown—the Ministry of Defense does not publicly report on this. The way people are being called up for training camps is causing outrage, which Belarusians are massively sharing on social networks. "Zerkalo" collected the most pressing questions and sought answers from military commissariats.
Unexplained Urgency
Belarusians are outraged that summonses to the military commissariat are delivered literally hours before the time specified in them. For example, a story went viral on TikTok about a man who received a summons at 8:00 AM, stating he needed to report to the military commissariat at 9:00 AM the same day.
— They brought ours on the 16th at 9:00 PM, and we had to appear on the morning of the 17th, — writes Iryna on Threads.
— My son received a summons today, Feb 18, at work and has to report to the military commissariat with his belongings today, — another Belarusian woman shared in the comments.
— My husband received a summons late yesterday, and he has to report today by 8 AM, — a third person recounts.
— My son was sent one at 8 PM; he works in Minsk until 10 PM. He has to report in Grodno by 8 AM, — a fourth person states.
Meanwhile, many note that, according to a resolution of the Council of Ministers, a summons for military training must be delivered no later than seven days before the start of the training. Previously, this period was ten days.
Very Long Waits
The second most widespread outrage is the prolonged waiting times at the military commissariats themselves. For example, one conscript wrote on Threads that on February 17, he spent over 10 hours at the assembly point: "No one says anything, there are about 200 of us here."
Some waited for 18 hours, and then received an order to come back a day later.
Someone was released only at 4 AM:
“I'm spending my second day at Lyceum No. 119 (referring to a lyceum in Grodno. — Ed. note). They released me at 4 AM immediately with a summons for 10:00 AM.”
“Mine sat there yesterday from 9 AM and came home at 4 AM; they gave him a summons to return today at 10 AM.”
“To give you an idea of the situation, our summons was for the 17th, we are still sitting here, it's already the 18th, and nobody knows anything or lets us go.”
“My brother arrived early yesterday morning from Minsk, he's still sitting there, waiting. Yesterday, his documents weren't even there. Today they issued a new summons.”
“Most of all, this waiting is infuriating. They should just say immediately: yes, we're taking you, or no, you're free. But so many hours of waiting, and they are there without food, without water, if they didn't bring any with them.”
“They kept us hungry all day at the lyceum and only let us go to eat for a couple of hours at three in the morning. Now they are sitting and waiting again… Is this normal? They wouldn't treat their own children like this!”
No Exceptions
Judging by comments on Threads, men are being sent to training camps for one to two months. No exceptions are being made for those with young or unhealthy children in their families.
“We have a breastfed baby . For all diagnoses — mine, the child's, and my husband's — they said: 'We don't give a f***,' and took him away. Where he is now, what's with him, I don't know, there's no communication, they took his phones.”
“They took my husband. I was sure they wouldn't take those with children under three, but unfortunately, my little one is 10 months old, and they took him.”
“My child just turned one, relatives are 1000 km away, we're from out of town,” a Belarusian woman recounts on TikTok. “The child has a brain disorder, a neurological condition, I'm hard of hearing. My husband just got out of the hospital with kidney issues, they said 'we don't care,' it's not a reason.”
“When they took me, my wife was in the hospital with our infant who had pneumonia, and I was home with my son who was in first grade,” a man who went through the training responds to her. “No one cared how a first-grader was supposed to live alone at home.”
“When they took us in the summer, the military commissar said: 'Whoever has family problems, come forward, we'll discuss it,' and they didn't take such people,” another recalls. “In the hall, they simply asked: 'Do you want to go or not?' Those who said 'no' were mostly not taken. Everything went humanely.”
Some Have Never Been Called, Others Were Conscripted Right After Demobilization
Belarusians don't quite understand how those called up for training are selected. Some have never been to such training, while others, conversely, are called up regularly.
— I served in 2012, they never took me for training, — a TikTok user rejoices in the comments.
— I served five years ago, and they haven't called me up for training yet, — another shares.
— My husband, of course, is unlucky again; he goes almost steadily every two years, but this time it's frightening that so many people are being taken, and they say they'll be without communication… — writes one Threads user.
— My husband was there yesterday due to a summons, there were guys who had only been demobilized three months ago, — adds another user.
The haste, the lack of clear information about the deadlines and the scale of the conscription, as well as how long it will all last, are causing many to worry. Especially against the backdrop of the sudden combat readiness check ordered by Alexander Lukashenka.
And although opinions surface in the comments that these are standard training camps, as always, not everyone is reassured by this.
— Normal ones are when everything is calm and arranged in advance, but when more than 4-5 thousand people are taken at once in a single day, that's no longer normal, — writes a conscript from Grodno.
What the Military Commissariats Say
Posing as the wife of someone called up for training, a journalist from "Zerkalo" called several military commissariats across the country. First and foremost, she inquired about the reason for such urgency.
— That's correct. People are given summonses to report today, not just tomorrow, — replied the duty officer at the Maladzyechna district military commissariat.
— Why such a rush?
— You should ask that question to the Minister of Defense, to the military commissar.
But what about the resolution of the Council of Ministers, which mentions seven days? The Homel district military commissariat suggested that the mentioned law pertains to planned training camps, not to a readiness check, meaning this period might not be observed.
— Summonses are likely being sent out as a matter of fact there, — they suggested, but could not find a reference to a specific point of the law.
In the Hrodna regional military commissariat, they could not answer our question about why conscripts have to wait so long at the assembly points. But they stated that "all this will be compensated."
— Who will compensate and for what? — the journalist clarified.
— With money, with money, — replied the employee.
They refused to state the number of people called up for training, citing "military secret."
Regarding the presence of minor children, as stated by the Lida district military commissariat, this is not a valid reason.
— By decree of the Minister of Defense, there are training camps now, you understand? The fact that a child is under three years old is not a reason [to be exempt from training]. . Reasons for exemption from training include: if [a man has] a child with a disability, if he himself is participating in agricultural work, for example, if he has an examination session, and so on. And also, if caring for close relatives – you need to check there, especially if they have a disability group and there's no one else. Unfortunately, having small children is not a reason.
Meanwhile, men raising three or more minor children (under 18 years old) are entitled to exemption from training.
Regarding the mechanics of selecting people for training camps, the Hrodna regional military commissariat assured the "Zerkalo" journalist that people are not called up at random.
— Clarify with your military commissariat. There is a law, of course, no one just points a finger at the ceiling, — stated the employee, but could not explain which legislative act regulates this and how often a reservist can be called up for training.
It should be noted that the Law "On Military Duty and Military Service" limits the total duration of military or special training camps during the period of being in reserve. According to Art. 70, it cannot exceed 12 months.
The start of military or special training camps for conscripts is considered the day they report to the military commissariat or the regional department of the State Security Committee for dispatch to the training location. Conscripts can be called up for special training camps for a period of up to two months.
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