The move, backed by Moscow, is called a response to “Western escalation” and will place the system, which Putin claims is “impossible to intercept,” on NATO’s eastern flank.
MINSK, Belarus — Belarus announced Tuesday that it will deploy Russia’s new Oreshnik intermediate-range hypersonic missile system on its territory, with the weapon becoming fully operational in December.
The decision, confirmed by authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko’s press department, was framed as a direct response to “Western escalation” and the ongoing war in neighboring Ukraine. “The conditions for the deployment of Oreshnik in Belarus have almost been created. In December of this year, it will be put on operational guard,” said presidential spokeswoman Natalia Eismont.
Lukashenko, Moscow’s closest ally in the war, called the deployment a “legitimate resource to guarantee the security of Belarus.”
The announcement marks a significant escalation and further cements the military alliance between the two nations. Russia has already transferred tactical nuclear weapons to Belarusian territory.
The Oreshnik system, first publicly used in an attack on a defense plant in Dnipro, Ukraine, in November 2024, has been touted by Russian President Vladimir Putin as “impossible to intercept” and possessing destructive power near that of a tactical nuclear weapon.
Western officials and international bodies have warned that placing the advanced system in Belarus alters the military balance in Eastern Europe, poses a qualitative new threat to Ukraine, and amplifies the risk of a wider regional confrontation.
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