Assertion comes after the Kremlin accused Ukraine of attacking Vladimir Putin’s palace in Novgorod
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.
Same difference (nti):
In February 2022, Belarus amended its constitution to allow Russia to deploy nuclear weapons on Belarussian territory. Russia deployed dozens of tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus at the end of 2023, and placed Belarus under its nuclear umbrella.