Russia claims to have moved nuclear-capable missile system into Belarus
Russia said its latest nuclear-capable missile system has been deployed in Belarus, a day after Moscow claimed that Ukraine had carried out a large-scale drone attack on Vladimir Putin’s residence.
Footage released by Russia’s ministry of defence showed the new Oreshnik missile trundling through a snowy forest. Soldiers were seen disguising combat vehicles with green netting and raising a flag at an airbase in eastern Belarus, close to the Russian border.
The video appeared part of a choreographed attempt to intimidate Europe and to prepare Russians for a further escalation in the already brutal war against Ukraine. The deployment, if true, would symbolically reduce the time it would take for a Russian missile to hit an EU capital.
Belarus’s president, Alexander Lukashenko, said 10 Oreshnik systems would be stationed in his country. Putin announced they were entering active service at a meeting on Monday with his generals, where he reaffirmed his intention to capture more Ukrainian territory, including the southern city of Zaporizhzhia.
Earlier Russia’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, warned that “reprisals” would be carried out against Kyiv and that targets were already prepared. They followed what he said was an attack on Sunday night involving 91 Ukrainian drones on the Russia’s president’s palace in the Novgorod region.
The Kremlin has not produced evidence to back up its allegations. Dmitry Peskov, Vladimir Putin’s spokesperson, said on Tuesday that no proof would be offered since all the missiles had been shot down. He said he could not comment on the lack of debris.
People living in the area said they did not hear explosions or the sound of anti-aircraft fire, according to the independent Russian media outlet Sota. No air raid alert was issued, nor were mobile phone clips showing smoke and flames shared online, a typical feature of confirmed hits.
On Tuesday Ukraine’s foreign minister, Andrii Sybiha, said Russia had made up the story, and urged other countries to ignore it. “Almost a day passed, and Russia still hasn’t provided any plausible evidence to its accusations. And they won’t. Because there’s none. No such attack happened,” he posted on X.
He did not criticise Donald Trump, who on Monday angrily endorsed Russia’s account and said Putin had told him about the attack in a phone call. “It’s one thing to be offensive, because they’re offensive. It’s another thing to attack his house. It’s not the right time to do any of that,” the US president said. [Continue reading…]