Not for war: Lukashenko receives Belarusian-made assault rifle

Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko has been presented with the country’s first domestically produced VSK-100B assault rifle, BelTA reports.

“Not for war... For confidence in peace!” reads the plaque accompanying the gift.

Lukashenko received the rifle on August 18 during a working visit to the Minsk Region, where he inspected efforts to expand Belarus’ domestic production of military small arms.

The Belarusian leader visited a production facility operated by OJSC Kidma Tech, where he was briefed on the company’s fully localized serial production of small arms. He was also shown the VSK-100B, described as the first Belarusian-designed and produced assault rifle.

Belarus began work on developing domestic small arms and ammunition in 2018. The first model was the 7.62-mm VSK-100 assault rifle, whose production began in January 2020 through large-unit assembly.

The country has since developed five models and six modifications of military small arms, with four models reportedly adopted for service.

The fully localized VSK-100B is currently in the final stages of development.

By Vafa Guliyeva