The ballistic missile system 'Oreshnik' has been put on combat readiness in Belarus, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced on Tuesday, LETA reports citing 'Meduza'.
The ministry reported that before going on combat duty, specialists in launch installations, communications, security, and power supply underwent retraining.
"All conditions for carrying out combat duty and the deployment of Russian servicemen were previously created in Belarus," the Ministry of Defense added.
The agency also published footage allegedly showing the missile system. Russian agencies "RIA Novosti" and TASS claim that the Ministry of Defense has shown the 'Oreshnik' for the first time.
The head of state, Alexander Lukashenko, stated on December 18 that the 'Oreshnik' had been delivered to Belarus.
"The first positions are equipped with the 'Oreshnik' missile system. It has been at our disposal since yesterday and is on combat readiness," he claimed.
The 'Oreshnik' is a Russian medium-range missile and the missile system of the same name. It is believed to have a range of 5,500 kilometers. According to the Russian armed forces, the 'Oreshnik' was used for the first time in November 2024 to strike Dnipro with missiles.
At the end of December, American analysts studying satellite images suggested that the 'Oreshnik' might be located in Belarus at the former military airfield "Krichiev-6" near Krichiev in the Mogilev region. This is five kilometers from the border with the Russian Smolensk region, 180 kilometers from Ukraine, 370 kilometers from Latvia, 400 kilometers from Lithuania, and 540 kilometers from Poland.
In December 2024, Lukashenko appealed to Russian President Vladimir Putin with a request to deploy the 'Oreshnik' on the territory of Belarus. The Russian president replied that this would be possible in the second half of 2025, as Russian authorities plan to start serial production of this missile system by that time.
