Putin: Russia's hypersonic missile in use, planned for use in Belarus

Putin: Russia's hypersonic missile in use, planned for use in Belarus

President Vladimir Putin announced on Friday that... Russia has begun production of its latest hypersonic missiles and reiterated its plans to move them to allied Belarus this year. At the side of the Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko On the island of Valaam near St. Petersburg, Putin said that locations in Belarus had already been selected for the Oreshnik medium-range missile.

Production and deployment of the Oreshnik missile

“Preparatory work is underway and we will probably finish it by the end of the year,” Putin said, adding that the first series of Oreshnik missiles and their systems have already been produced and adopted into military service.

First use against Ukraine

Russia first used the Oreshnik, which means "hazelnut tree" in Russian, against Ukraine in November when it fired the experimental weapon at a missile factory in Dnipro built during the Soviet Union. Putin praised the Oreshnik's capabilities and stressed that its multiple warheads, which hit a target at speeds of up to Mach 10, cannot be intercepted. Their destructive power is so great that the use of multiple Oreshniks in a conventional attack could be devastating, almost comparable to a nuclear attack.

Warning to the West

Putin warned the West that Moscow was opposing the Oreshnik Ukraine's NATO allies that have allowed Kiev to use its long-range missiles against targets inside Russia. The head of Russia's Missile Forces explained that the Oreshnik, which can be equipped with conventional or nuclear warheads, has a range that allows it to reach all of Europe.

Treaty on security guarantees for Belarus

Intermediate-range missiles can travel a distance of 500 to 5,500 kilometers (310 to 3,400 miles). These weapons were banned under a Soviet treaty that Washington and Moscow withdrew in 2019. Last fall, Putin and Lukashenko signed a deal granting Moscow security guarantees for Belarus, including the possible use of Russian nuclear weapons to ward off any aggression. This agreement follows a revision of Russian nuclear doctrine that brought Belarus under Russia's nuclear umbrella for the first time amid tensions with the West over the conflict in Ukraine.

Russian troops in Belarus

Lukashenko, who has ruled Belarus with an iron hand for more than 30 years and relies on subsidies and support from the Kremlin, allowed Russia to use its territory to send troops to Ukraine and deploy some 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 of them.

Expanding the scope of Russian military actions

The deployment of tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, which is a 1,084 kilometer (673 mile) long Border with Ukraine would allow Russian aircraft and missiles to reach potential targets there more quickly and easily if Moscow decides to use them. It also expands Russia's ability to target multiple NATO allies in Eastern and Central Europe.

Russia's new nuclear doctrine

The revised one signed by Putin last fall Nuclear doctrine has formally lowered the threshold for the use of Russian nuclear weapons. According to this document, Moscow could use nuclear weapons “in response to the use of nuclear and other types of weapons of mass destruction” against Russia or its allies, as well as “in the event of aggression” against Russia and Belarus using conventional weapons that “threaten their sovereignty and/or territorial integrity.”