Soldiers Of Kastus Kalinouski Regiment Preparing To Perform Tasks In Belarus

The military formation will liberate our country from the regime of Lukashenka and the Kremlin.

The Belarusian military formation in Ukraine, the Kalinouski Regiment, has only recently received its current status, so it is actively training new fighters.

A Belsat camera crew has visited for the first time the training ground of the Belarusian unit, where new recruits are now being trained. The fighters of the Kalinouski regiment spoke about their path, the training system, and the tasks now and for the future.

When the Belarusian military formation received the status of a regiment, an active process of staffing and recruiting new fighters-Belarusians began. Therefore, activities at the training centre do not stop for a single day.

"The unit is expanding, we have declared a regiment and, accordingly, we intend to recruit people. It is obvious that the more Belarusians have combat experience, the easier it will be for us to solve our tasks - so far in Ukraine, but over time, they will also be in Belarus," says one of the fighters, Vadzim Kabanchuk.

The Belarusian fighter, for security reasons, does not specify the current number of the Kalinouski fighters, but notes that it's several hundreds.

According to Vadzim, the training of the Kalinouski fighters resembles the training of young soldiers in the Belarusian army, but differs significantly in the professionalism of the instructors. The classes consist of tactical training, learning emergency pre-medical care, training in shooting and mine clearance. And this is not a complete list of things the Kalinouski Regiment fighters learn on a daily basis: "Most of us are already performing combat missions. The guys who are now at the base are constantly being trained. That is, first they undergo a young fighter course, then combat companies are formed, which are then sent to the front line".

The current task of the Kalinouski Regiment is to defend Ukraine from Russia, and to liberate it completely. After that, it is planned that the military formation will already liberate its own country from the regime of Lukashenka and the Kremlin. But for the time being the attention is focused exclusively on Ukraine: "Here there may be nuances of a more technical nature, which will be connected with our subordination and deployment. At present we are engaged in military affairs in Ukraine, so we are subordinated to the military leadership of Ukraine. It is difficult to say yet what will happen in the future, for us it is a technical point".

Joining the Kalinouski Regiment is simple enough: just contact the coordination centre in Warsaw or write to the relevant Telegram bot of the formation. In other words, any adult Belarusian who is ready to liberate Ukraine can join.

An already acting fighter of the Kalinouski Regiment, call sign Lev, states that his decision to join the formation came very easily: "My decision originated in 2020, which charged a very strong hatred to our authorities, to everything that was going on, to the Kremlin and Russia. And, accordingly, when the war had already started all over Ukraine, it was already something personal for me, I was in pain. And I thought about how I could help in this situation".

Apart from the reasons, fighter Lev spoke about the goals that the Kalinouski regiment wants to achieve: "As for most of our fighters who come here, who join our ranks, we all have the same goal - not to sit it out somewhere. We are now training intensively with the sole purpose of being as prepared as possible physically, mentally, and morally to go to the "front". It is the main goal for everybody, because the essence is not a desire to shoot, to kill, but in the additional physical force, additional fighting unit for strengthening the scale of liberation in order to kick out the Muscovites from the territory of Ukraine. I am convinced that if Ukraine wins, Belarus will win".

A fighter with call sign Yaramir draws attention to the moral side of his decision to join the regiment: "I decided that it was simply ethically wrong to stay safe in Poland while children were dying here. After evacuating from Belarus in 2020, I lived here for three months, I have been in contact with Ukrainians all my conscious life and I feel very good about them. So I couldn't stay there in safety while people were dying here.

The Kalinouski Regiment is the largest and most famous Belarusian unit of the Ukrainian forces taking part in the war in Ukraine. It was originally established as the Kastus Kalinouski battalion, which was given regimental status in May 2022 due to its growing strength. The backbone of the unit was made up of Belarusians who had been defending Ukraine in the war with Russia since 2014. Its ranks include many well-known activists: the founder of the Zubr movement, the Krai sports and patriotic organisation and the Young Front, BCD member Vadzim Kabanchuk, the current head of the Young Front Dzianis Urbanovich, the creator of the Maya Kraina - Belarus and Lukashenka's Moustache public pages Siarhei Bespalau and others.

The regiment's fighters took an active part in the battles near Kyiv, as well as in the liberation of the region's territory from the Russians.

Six fighters have died since the formation: Ilia Khrenau (call sign Litvin), Aliaksei Skoblia (call sign Tur), Dzmitry Apanasovich (call sign Terror), Dzmitry Rubasheuski (call sign Hans), Kanstantsin Dziubaila (call sign Feniks) and Pavel (call sign Volat).