Key facts
- Russia's 101st Missile Brigade, armed with Oreshnik missiles, is deployed in Belarus.
- Ukraine's military intelligence chief Oleh Ivashchenko confirmed the deployment.
- The Oreshnik is an intermediate-range ballistic missile system difficult to intercept.
- Belarus has previously been identified as hosting the Oreshnik system.
- Ukraine is concerned about Belarus facilitating Russian drone strikes with signal repeaters.
Russia's 101st Missile Brigade, equipped with the Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missile system, has been deployed in Belarus, according to Oleh Ivashchenko, Ukraine's military intelligence chief. The confirmation comes more than six months after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that Belarus was already hosting the system, describing the move as a significant escalation risk.
The Oreshnik is believed to be a modified version of the Rubezh surface-to-surface missile, characterized by its high speed, making it exceptionally difficult to intercept and posing a considerable challenge to Ukrainian air defenses. While designed to carry nuclear warheads, previous Oreshnik missiles launched at Ukraine have not been nuclear-armed. Russia first deployed the missile in November 2024 against Dnipro, followed by an attack on western Ukraine including Lviv, and most recently in May against Bila Tserkva, a town south of Kyiv.
Ivashchenko also expressed concern over Belarus permitting Moscow to deploy radio signal repeaters on its territory, which assist in adjusting Russian Shahed drone strikes on Ukrainian civilian and critical infrastructure. He suggested that if Belarus cannot control such Russian activities, it indicates Minsk's diminished authority over Russia's actions within its borders.
Despite Russia's efforts to utilize Belarusian territory and military resources for its war against Ukraine, Kyiv currently perceives no immediate signs of Minsk preparing to actively join the conflict. Ivashchenko assessed the threat emanating from Belarus, located north of Ukraine, as low. Belarus, under the long-standing rule of Alexander Lukashenko, remains one of Moscow's closest allies, providing substantial political and military support since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.