MINSK, February 23. /TASS/. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said the world is being drawn into another reckless arms race, including in the nuclear sphere.

The head of state recalled that 2026 will mark 85 years since the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, when a great tragedy befell the country — one that the peoples of the USSR overcame at the cost of immense losses and suffering. "We see that today the international situation resembles that difficult period in our country. The West is deliberately fueling military hysteria, NATO countries’ military budgets are steadily increasing, and the pace of Europe’s militarization — especially of our western neighbors — is accelerating," he said at a ceremony presenting state awards on the occasion of Defender of the Fatherland Day and Armed Forces Day, celebrated in the country.

Lukashenko was quoted by the BelTA news agency saying that the system of checks and balances that previously ensured pan-European security has been dismantled. "The world is being drawn into another reckless arms race, including nuclear," the president noted.

In these circumstances, Lukashenko believes the primary task for all people of good will across the globe is to do everything possible and impossible to prevent a new world slaughter.