Lukashenko asks Putin to deploy Oreshnik missile system in Belarus
Photo: Alexander Lukashenko and Vladimir Putin (kremlin.ru)
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has requested Russian President Vladimir Putin to deploy the Oreshnik missile system in Belarus. The Russian leader promised to fulfill the request by 2025, according to BelTA.
Lukashenko expressed concerns about the situation along Belarus’s western borders and in neighboring Ukraine.
“I want to publicly ask you to deploy new weapons systems, especially the Oreshnik, on Belarusian territory. This would calm certain minds,” the Belarusian leader told Putin.
In response, Putin assured Lukashenko that the request would be met.
“The deployment of such systems is possible. This will be possible in the second half of 2025,” Putin stated.
He added that the targets for the Oreshnik system from Belarusian territory would be determined by the military-political leadership in Minsk.
Oreshnik missile strike on Ukraine
On November 21, Russian forces launched a missile strike on Dnipro. The Ukrainian Air Force reported that it was the first time Russia had used an intercontinental ballistic missile against Ukraine.
Later, Putin claimed that the Russian military had conducted a test launch of the medium-range Oreshnik missile system. However, Ukrainian intelligence clarified that the new missile was launched from the Kedr missile complex.
Kyrylo Budanov, head of Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence, explained that this is about the same missile. Putin used the name of the Oreshnik missile program, but the missile launch system is called Kedr.
