The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belarus confirmed the distribution of the Russian rocket complex known as “Oreshnik” on the Belarusian territory, also referred to by Ukrainian intelligence sources as “Kedr”.
This step was officially announced on September 25 by the self -proclaimed President Aleksander Łukaszenka.
According to Belarusian diplomacy, the installation of the system is justified by the need to “protect your own safety” and should not be interpreted as a signal of the arms race or escalation of regional conflict. Until now, an official reaction from neighboring countries, including Ukraine, has not appeared.
Origin and system capabilities
The medium-range rocket was developed on the basis of the RS-26 Rubeż. According to the Main Intelligence Board of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, the real name of the system is not “Oreshnik” but “Kedr”.
The known features include:
- Six warheads, each equipped with six subamunitions.
- The speed exceeding Mach 11 in the final phase of the flight.
In December 2024, Łukaszenko declared his intention to accept Russian rockets, remembering the former Soviet locations in which strategic nuclear complexes were stationed. The latest announcement indicates that the planned schedule has been implemented.
It is still unclear whether the units transferred to Belarus are equipped with nuclear heads.
The context of the situation is also determined by the end of the Inf Treaty (Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treat), which expired in August 2019 and previously banned the United States and Russia to develop and distribute medium-range rockets.
Source: telegram @rian_ru | @MOD_RUSSIA. The content was prepared with the help of AI and checked by the editorial team.
