Russia has announced plans to deploy its advanced Oreshnik nuclear-capable hypersonic ballistic missiles to Belarus in the second half of 2025. The announcement comes on the heels of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Belarus on Friday, where he signed a landmark treaty to further deepen military cooperation between the two nations.
The Oreshnik missile, which features a Multiple Independently Targetable Reentry Vehicle (MIRV) system, can carry multiple nuclear warheads and strike several targets simultaneously.
Putin claimed it can travel at speeds up to ten times the speed of sound, making it effectively immune to interception by current air defense systems.
Russia first used the missile operationally on November 21, striking the Ukrainian city of Dnipro, which Putin said was in response to Ukrainian attacks on Russian military facilities in the Bryansk and Kursk regions.
The deployment is contingent on the completion of serial production in Russia. Once in Belarus, the missiles will remain under Russian control, though Belarus will reportedly have input on target selection. The stationing of the Oreshnik missiles extends their range across much of Europe, a move that raises concerns among NATO member states, including Poland, Lithuania, and Germany.
During his visit to Minsk, Putin emphasized that the newly signed security treaty ensures mutual defense and includes provisions for the use of Russian nuclear weapons to repel aggression against Belarus. The agreement formalizes Belarus’s position under Russia’s nuclear umbrella, further aligning Minsk with Moscow’s military posture.
According to reports, it was Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko who requested the deployment of more advanced Russian weaponry, including the Oreshnik missiles. Lukashenko asserted that the missiles would serve as a deterrent against NATO countries, stating, “[Deploying Oreshnik in Belarus] would seriously calm down some ‘minds’ that are already prepared to wage war against Belarus.”
Belarus’ opposition leader-in-exile, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, criticized the agreement, warning it further erodes Belarusian sovereignty. “Putin’s visit to Minsk isn’t about security, it’s about Russia tightening control over our country. The deployment of new weapons and using Belarus as a pawn in his imperial ambitions threatens us all,” Tsikhanouskaya said.
The planned deployment of the Oreshnik missiles follows Russia’s controversial transfer of tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus in December 2023. Although these weapons remain under Russian control, Belarusian military doctrine has since been updated to include the use of tactical nuclear weapons in defense of its sovereignty.
Putin’s announcement also follows a revision of Russia’s nuclear doctrine last month, which lowered the threshold for nuclear use. The doctrine states that Moscow could use nuclear weapons in response to “the use of nuclear and other types of weapons of mass destruction” against Russia or its allies, or “in the event of aggression” using conventional weapons that threaten “their sovereignty and/or territorial integrity.”
