Aleksandr Lukashenko, self-proclaimed president of Belarus, signed the law “On People’s Militia”.

The press service of the Belarusian dictator reported about this on July 17.

100-150 thousand people can be involved in the “militia”.

It is reported that this document creates a legal basis for the voluntary participation of citizens in ensuring martial law in the country.

In addition, it creates additional conditions for providing assistance to territorial bodies of internal affairs.

The Ministry of Defense developed the document together with the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Belarus.

In February of this year, the Ministry of Defense of Belarus stated that the “people’s militia” could include 100,000-150,000 people.

At that time, it was also not ruled out that the number could be higher.

At the same time, Viktor Khrenin, head of the Belarusian Defense Ministry, did not rule out that people who did not undergo military training, including women, could become “volunteers”. He noted that “volunteers” will be provided with training courses.

“We are able to train people in a short period of time. Both during the creation of the people’s militia and before its creation in peacetime,” Khrenin said.

On July 14, Belarus reported that Russian mercenaries of the Wagner PMC started training the Belarusian Territorial Defense Forces. Mercenaries started arriving in Belarus after the short-lived coup in the Russian Federation, which lasted from June 23 to 24, 2023. The first confirmed reports that the mercenaries were being relocated to Belarus appeared on July 11.

In May of last year, the Belarusian dictator Lukashenko ordered the creation of the so-called “people’s militia” in the country, allegedly to strengthen the country’s defense.