Overview
- Russia and Belarus announced the Oreshnik system is now on active combat duty in Belarus and released footage showing mobile launchers being transported and camouflaged.
- Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko says the country will host up to ten systems, with Moscow retaining control and Minsk participating in target selection.
- Independent satellite analysts Jeffrey Lewis and Decker Eveleth identify the former Krichev airbase in eastern Belarus as the likely deployment site.
- Russian officials claim the missiles fly at roughly Mach 10 with a range near 5,000–5,500 km and short times to European targets, assertions that outside experts have not independently verified.
- The activation coincides with U.S.-driven talks after President Trump met Volodymyr Zelensky and follows Russia’s claim of a drone incident near a Putin residence that Kyiv denies.