Lukashenko spoke out on the timing of Oreshnik's delivery to Belarus

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko spoke out on January 26 about the timing of the delivery of the Oreshnik medium-range hypersonic ballistic system to the republic.

"We have agreed with [Russian President Vladimir] Putin that the next installation will be delivered even earlier to Belarus than to Russia," Lukashenko said at a briefing.

He added that the missiles are likely to be first placed on the territory of Belarus closer to Smolensk, and then an ideal position will be chosen. Lukashenko noted that one installation of "Oreshnik" will be enough for the republic to secure itself.

Commonwealth aid: Putin is ready to deploy Oreshnik in Belarus in 2025

The targets for the missile system will be determined by Minsk

Earlier, December 26, 2024, the Belarusian leader said that the country expects to receive about 10 complexes "Oreshnik" or more, if Russia wants to transfer them, so that there would be a "reserve," recalled "Gazeta.Ru."

Lukashenko asked Putin to supply Belarus with Oreshnik on December 6. The president of the republic then explained that Minsk was worried about the situation on the borders with Lithuania and Poland. Lukashenko added that NATO was accumulating its forces on the western borders of the country. The Russian president responded by admitting the possibility of deploying the Oreshnik in Belarus in the second half of 2025.

Putin announced the combat test of the Oreshnik ballistic missile, one of Russia's newest medium-range missile systems, on Nov. 21. The step was taken in response to the escalation by Western countries in Ukraine. The head of state then clarified that Russia would continue testing and that a decision on the serial production of the missiles had already been made.