August 2. Pozirk. During a news conference in Russia on August 1, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Alaksandar Łukašenka projected military strength and economic stability as part of Putin’s ongoing effort to convince US President Donald Trump that sanctions and military support to Ukraine will not alter the outcome of the war in Ukraine and that Trump should abandon his efforts to resolve the war, said the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
Putin claimed that Russia produced its first serial Oreshnik ballistic missile system and missiles, and that the Oreshnik system entered into service. Putin claimed that Russian and Belarusian specialists are working to identify future Oreshnik deployment locations by the end of 2025, and Łukašenka stated that Russia will station Oreshnik systems in Belarus in 2026.
Russia is leveraging the Oreshnik system as part of a reflexive control campaign aimed at undermining Western resolve to militarily support Ukraine, the ISW said. Putin’s and Łukašenka’s August 1 statements about Oreshniks are similarly trying to posture military strength to convince Trump not to follow through with his threat of economic repercussions.
Łukašenka claimed on August 1 that Russia and Belarus have undertaken significant measures in recent years to offset the impact of Western sanctions and that the two countries will survive additional future sanctions. His statements are the latest in the Kremlin’s ongoing effort to posture economic stability to its foreign and domestic audiences and to discourage the West from levying additional sanctions against Russia by claiming that sanctions have no impact on the Russian economy.
