Ukrainian president sends Belarus warning over Oreshnik

February 7, Pozirk. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has indicated that Ukraine may 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 [a missile range] 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.”

Zelensky expressed hope that the Belarusian opposition, including Śviatłana Cichanoŭskaja, would inform the international community about Moscow’s efforts to draw Belarus into the conflict.

Noting that Ukraine had previously prevented Belarus from providing its antennas for Russian drone attacks, he said, “We will certainly do our best to stop the Oreshnik from becoming operational. This is a threat to us, and we want to use all available tools to prevent it from happening. If Russia succeeds in dragging one more country—Belarus—into this war, it will be a great tragedy.”

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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