Russia plans to deploy its new hypersonic Oreshnik missiles in Belarus by 2025, according to Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.
During a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin last week, Lukashenko requested the missiles, citing concerns about the growing presence of Polish and Lithuanian troops near Belarus’ western border. He confirmed that Belarus would determine the missile targets, with Russia supplying them for free.
The Oreshnik missile was first used by Russia in late November, hitting the Ukrainian city of Dnipro as retaliation for Ukraine’s use of Western-supplied weapons. Putin claimed that “as of today, there are no means of counteracting such a weapon,” and further threatened countries that support Ukraine, stating that Russia reserves the right to target military facilities in those nations.
Putin downplayed the threat of nuclear escalation, arguing that the Oreshnik missile reduces the need for nuclear weapons. “What we need now is not to improve the nuclear doctrine, but the Oreshnik,” he said, emphasizing that these new systems make nuclear weapons almost unnecessary.
Andrii Kovalenko, head of Ukraine’s Center for Countering Disinformation, suggested that the missile deployment in Belarus is largely a psychological tactic aimed at intimidating Europe, following decisions by some countries to allow Ukraine to strike targets within Russia.
