January 22, Pozirk. Last August, Belarus installed what appears to be a Russian-made Tor short-range surface-to-air missile system to defend the Mazyr oil refinery in the Homiel region, investigative journalists of Radio Liberty‘s Ukrainian service reported yesterday.
Satellite images reviewed by journalists show that work began in January 2025 to build positions for the air defense system – seven months before the system itself was spotted at the site.
Last January, the now-defunct defense monitoring project Belaruski Hajun also reported the construction of additional defensive structures around the refinery, including firing positions, trenches and checkpoints.
The refinery supplies fuel to Russia, whose production capacity has been undermined by Ukrainian attacks on petrochemical facilities.
In February 2022, Russia started a full-scale war against Ukraine in which the Belarusian authorities supported the Kremlin, allowing Russian troops to attack Ukraine from Belarus on multiple occasions and supplying arms to Moscow.
