Minsk, December 8, 2024 – The Europe Today: Belarus will host Russia’s new Oreshnik hypersonic missile systems as a countermeasure to US plans to deploy medium-range missiles in Germany, Deputy Chief of the Belarusian Armed Forces General Staff Sergey Lagodyuk announced on Saturday.
This decision follows the signing of a security treaty between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, granting both nations the ability to utilize their full military capabilities in tandem. Putin indicated that the Oreshnik missiles could be stationed in Belarus by the latter half of 2025, contingent on their operational readiness.
“The deployment of Oreshnik missile systems on Belarusian territory is a direct response to the United States and Germany’s steps to station medium-range missiles in Europe,” Lagodyuk told BelTA news agency.
At a NATO summit in July, Washington and Berlin revealed plans to station the Standard Missile-6 (SM-6), Tomahawk land-attack cruise missiles, and a developing hypersonic missile in Wiesbaden, Germany, by 2026. These weapons bring major Russian cities, including Moscow and St. Petersburg, within range, with Tomahawks capable of striking targets over 2,500 kilometers away.
The deployment of such missiles in Europe would previously have been prohibited under the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty. However, the US withdrew from the treaty in 2019, citing alleged Russian violations, paving the way for medium-range missile deployments.
In response, Putin pledged “mirror measures,” signaling that Russia would no longer be constrained by the INF Treaty. The Oreshnik missile deployment is part of this strategy.
Last month, Russia conducted the first combat test of the Oreshnik, using it to strike a Ukrainian military facility in Dnepropetrovsk with multiple warheads. This demonstration came after Western powers permitted Ukraine to use their missiles against Russian territory. Putin emphasized that such tests serve as a warning that “there will always be a response” to Western escalations.
The missile deployments in Belarus underscore deepening military cooperation between Minsk and Moscow amidst heightened tensions with NATO. The strategic move further solidifies Belarus’s role as a key ally of Russia in the evolving security landscape in Eastern Europe.
