December 13, Pozirk. Ukraine’s Foreign Intelligence Service (FIS) has detected preparations in Belarus for the possible deployment of Russia’s Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missile system, FIS chief Oleh Ivashchenko told Ukrinform.
“Russia and Belarus are constructing military facilities for the launchers, as well as surveillance and communication systems that are part of the Oreshnik system,” he said. “However, as of today, these measures have not yet been completed.”
If the Oreshnik system were deployed in Belarus, Minsk “would have no rights or authority to use it,” Ivashchenko noted, adding that the system would remain under the command of Russia’s Strategic Missile Forces.
According to Ivashchenko, the potential deployment is intended to “intensify the blackmail of Europe” and to protect the system from possible strikes, since “stationing it in the European part of the Russian Federation would make it a legitimate target” for Ukraine.
He added that deployment in Belarus would primarily serve as a tool of pressure on the European Union and NATO rather than on Ukraine, as the system would be capable of delivering a rapid surprise strike on any European capital.
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