Russia deploys Oreshnik missile in Belarus with Europe in its sights — FISU Head

This was stated by Oleh Ivashchenko, Head of the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine, in a comment to Ukrinform.

“We are observing preparatory measures for the deployment of the Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missile on the territory of Belarus. Russia and Belarus are developing military facilities for the launcher, surveillance systems, and communications, which are elements of the Oreshnik system. However, as of now, these measures have not yet been fully implemented,” he said.

According to Ivashchenko, Russia is physically capable of placing a launcher in Belarus. However, without the completion of other system elements, it would function merely as a mock-up.

The intelligence chief explained that even if Oreshnik is deployed on Belarusian territory, Minsk will have no rights or authority to use it. The Oreshnik MRBM would remain within the single command-and-control system of Russia’s Strategic Missile Forces.

According to the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine, the deployment of Oreshnik in Belarus is driven by Russia’s intent to intensify blackmail against Europe and European countries, as well as to shield the system from strikes, since deploying this weapon in the European part of the Russian Federation would make it a legitimate target for Ukraine’s Defense Forces.

“The deployment of Oreshnik on the territory of Belarus is a tool of pressure primarily on the EU and NATO, not on Ukraine. Such a move would allow Russia to expand its capabilities for delivering a sudden strike on the capital of any European country and would significantly reduce missile flight time compared to launches from the Kapustin Yar test range,” Ivashchenko emphasized.

Earlier, FISU Head Ivashchenko said in an interview with Ukrinform that as of May of this year, there were no nuclear weapons in Belarus, only their delivery systems.

On October 31, self-proclaimed President of Belarus Aleksandr Lukashenko stated that a Russian Oreshnik missile system was planned to be placed on combat duty in December.

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