Alexander Lukashenko said that he was not going to shoot at the protesters with a machine gun 
President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko explained why he went in the midst of the 2020 protests in public with a gun. The head of the republic told about this in his interview to RIA Novosti.
According to him, he was not going to shoot at the protesters who are near the presidential residence. “They were cowards who were paid money. They walked for several days, weeks, chased them, pushed and so on, they thought that we would go once again – they were delivering money, we saw on the camera, ”Lukashenka said.
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At the same time, the president noted that he was ready for a different development of events. “Inside I had trained special forces. If only they [protesters – approx. “Lenta.ru” ] rushed here, and we knew that they not only had edged weapons, we did not rule it out, we would have defended the Palace of Independence according to all laws, including with military weapons, “he explained he.
Lukashenka also added that he was ready to repel an attack even against himself. “Listen, I went out with the child, if there was any attempt at violence against me, what do you think I would watch? My soldiers were such that they would sweep half of Minsk, sweep away these scoundrels. Therefore, it was not a joke, “the head of state said.
Lukashenka first appeared in public with a gun on August 23, 2020 during the mass protests that began after the presidential elections. On that day, he, together with his son Nikolai, flew around Minsk in a helicopter with a weapon in his hands, after which he landed at the Palace of Independence cordoned off by security forces. The Belarusian president also walked around the square around the residence with a machine gun and in a bulletproof vest.