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Putin: Russia's hypersonic missile in use, will be used in Belarus
Putin announces that Russia's newest hypersonic Oreshnik missiles will enter service and be deployed to Belarus later this year. This move increases the military presence in Europe.
Putin: Russia's hypersonic missile in use, will be used in Belarus
President Vladimir Putin announced on Friday that Russia has begun production of its latest hypersonic missiles and confirmed plans to station them in allied Belarus this year.
Stationing Oreshnik missiles in Belarus
In the presence of the Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko On the island of Valaam near St. Petersburg, Putin said that the military leadership had already selected locations in Belarus for the medium-range Oreshnik missiles.
Preparation and deployment of the Oreshnik
“Preparatory work is underway and we will probably finish it by the end of the year,” Putin said. He added that the first series of Oreshnik missiles and their systems have been produced and entered military service.
Russia first used the Oreshnik, Russian for "hazelnut tree," against Ukraine in November when it fired the experimental weapon at a factory in Dnipro that used to produce missiles when Ukraine was part of the Soviet Union. Putin praised the Oreshnik missile's capabilities and stressed that its multiple warheads, which can reach speeds of up to Mach 10, cannot be intercepted. They are also so powerful that the use of multiple missiles in a conventional attack could be just as devastating as a nuclear attack.
Threat to NATO
He warned the West that Moscow was against them Ukraine's NATO allies could use, which have enabled Kiev to use its long-range missiles against targets inside Russia.
Range and possible uses
The head of the Russian Missile Force explained that the Oreshnik, which can carry both conventional and nuclear warheads, has a range that allows it to reach all of Europe. Medium-range missiles can reach ranges of 500 to 5,500 kilometers (310 to 3,400 miles). Such weapons were banned under a Cold War treaty that Washington and Moscow abandoned in 2019.
Security guarantees for Belarus
Last fall, Putin and Lukashenko signed a deal that provides for Moscow's security guarantees for Belarus, including the possible use of Russian nuclear weapons to ward off aggression. This agreement followed the revision of Putin's nuclear doctrine, which brought Belarus under the Russian nuclear umbrella for the first time, in the context of tensions with the West over the conflict in Ukraine.
Lukashenko's authority and military cooperation
Lukashenko, who has ruled Belarus with an iron hand for more than 30 years and relies on Russian subsidies, allowed Russia to send troops to Ukraine from its territory and deploy some of its tactical nuclear weapons. Russia has not disclosed how many such weapons have been deployed, but Lukashenko said in December that his country currently has several dozen.
Expanded military capabilities
The stationing of tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, which is 1,084 kilometers long Border with Ukraine would allow Russian aircraft and missiles to reach potential targets more quickly and easily if Moscow decides to use them. It also increases Russia's ability to target multiple NATO allies in Eastern and Central Europe.
New nuclear doctrine and military strategies
The revised one Nuclear doctrine, which Putin signed last fall, formally lowered the threshold for the use of Russian nuclear weapons. The document states that Moscow could use nuclear weapons in response to the use of nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction against Russia or its allies, as well as in the event of aggression against Russia and Belarus with conventional weapons that "threaten their sovereignty and/or territorial integrity."