Zelenskyy says Ukraine knows where Russia's Oreshnik is deployed in Belarus
Photo: President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy (Vitalii Nosach, RBC-Ukraine)
Ukraine knows the location of the new Russian Oreshnik missile in Belarus, and the relevant data is being shared with international partners, says Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at a press conference with Polish leader Karol Nawrocki.
“The transfer of Oreshnik to Belarus is nearing completion. We understand where it will be, where it will be deployed. We are passing this information on to our partners. I think our partners can assess this threat themselves and understand how to respond,” Zelenskyy said.
Ukraine had previously warned its European and American partners that Russia would deploy the Oreshnik in Belarus. Partners were shown the range at which the Oreshnik would operate. This is a threat to many European countries, including Poland and Germany.
“Oreshnik cannot be shot down by drones. We asked our partners to impose sanctions on companies that sell components through third countries that are suitable for Oreshnik. Without these components, Russia simply cannot develop this missile. I do not see these sanctions being imposed yet," the Ukrainian president said.
Zelenskyy added that Russia will continue to produce Oreshnik missiles. In his opinion, if partners are making so many diplomatic efforts to end the war, they can probably also put pressure on Russia not to deploy these missiles closer to Europe.
About the Oreshnik
Russia used the Oreshnik missile during its attack on Ukraine. The attack took place on November 21 last year. The Russians targeted a defense plant in Dnipro.
On September 30, Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko publicly demonstrated a model of the Russian medium-range ballistic missile Oreshnik for the first time. During his meeting with the Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan, a model of the launcher was spotted in the office.
Lukashenko said that the Oreshnik complexes are planned to be deployed in Belarus by the end of the year. Relevant agreements were reached with Vladimir Putin during a meeting in Volgograd.
Oreshnik is likely a modification of the RS-26 Rubezh missile. According to unofficial data, its flight range can reach about 5,500 kilometers, but there is little information about this missile in open sources.
