Minsk 19:26

Łukašenka says Belarus could strike back if Oreshnik targeted

The Pioner missile, said to be a prototype of the Oreshnik, at Russia's Kapustin Yar Museum
(Leonidl / Wikimedia Commons)

March 13, Pozirk. Alaksandar Łukašenka, during a visit to the Mahiloŭ region on March 13, reacted angrily to Kyiv’s suggestion that the Belarus-based Oreshnik missile could be considered a legitimate target for NATO.

“What do you think—if they consider objects on the territory of Belarus a legitimate target, will I just sleep and watch?” he said, adding that “I can [strike] … what I consider a legitimate target for the Belarusian Armed Forces 70 kilometers away, 200 kilometers away.” He noted that Belarus has enough weapons apart from the Oreshnik to hurt its enemies.

The Belarusian strongman’s comments were apparently a response to a warning from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

He also said the army was using decoys to mislead reconnaissance. “Ten decoys—10 vehicles—take to the road. They look from above: 10 Oreshniks. But there is only one. There is always an antidote to any poison.”

Last month, Zelensky indicated that Ukraine could strike Russian missiles stationed in Belarus.

“Our message is that the Oreshnik [the Russian intermediate-range hypersonic ballistic missile] is already there, either completely or partially,” he told reporters at a closed-door meeting, Ukraine’s Glavkom reported on February 7. “We clearly understand this. We have launched missiles at Kapustin Yar, where the Russians keep these missiles. That is why our message to Belarus is that it can be dragged into this war, and the Russians want that.”

On December 30, the defense ministry in Minsk released a 35-second video showing what it described as Russia’s Oreshnik missile system on combat patrol duty somewhere in Belarus.

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