Russia plans to deploy its newly developed nuclear-capable Oreshnik [Hazel tree] hypersonic missiles in Belarus in the latter half of 2025, President Vladimir Putin announced during a televised meeting with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in Minsk on Friday, Dec. 6.
The Belarusian state news agency Belta reported that Lukashenko had requested Putin to deploy the Oreshnik missile system on Belarusian soil.
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Lukashenko expressed concerns about the situation along Belarus’ western borders and in neighboring Ukraine, saying: “I want to publicly ask you to deploy new weapons systems, particularly the Oreshnik, on Belarusian territory.”
Putin said: “As for the possibility of deploying, to put it bluntly, such formidable weapons as Oreshnik on Belarusian territory... it will become possible, I think, in the second half of next year.”
He added that this timeline aligns with Russia’s plans to “ramp up serial production” of the missile.
Belarus, Moscow’s closest ally, has already hosted Russian tactical nuclear weapons since 2023. The deployment of the Oreshnik missiles would deepen military cooperation between the two nations amid Russia’s offensive in Ukraine.
Gen. Valery Gerasimov, a leading figure behind Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, held an uncommon conversation with US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Charles K. Brown Jr. on Nov. 27 to discuss managing escalation between the two nations, according to a report from the New York Times (NYT), citing US defense and military officials.
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This conversation came shortly after Russia launched its nuclear-capable Oreshnik missile at Ukraine. Putin claimed the missile strike was in response to Ukraine’s use of Western weapons, including American and British missiles, to target Russian territory.
The US did not comment on the specifics of the conversation, with Gen. Brown’s press office declining to provide details. However, sources cited by NYT revealed that Gerasimov informed Brown that Russia’s decision to deploy the Oreshnik missile had been made before the US lifted restrictions on ATACMS strikes.
While the missile was equipped with a conventional warhead during its deployment, the missile’s potential for carrying nuclear warheads indicates Russia’s capability to escalate if desired.
The missile, reportedly a variant of the Rubezh RS-26 ballistic missile first tested in 2011, was launched at a weapons facility in Dnipro, Ukraine, traveling around 800 kilometers.
The UK Ministry of Defence suggested that Russia likely possesses only a small number of Oreshnik missiles, and that the missile has yet to enter serial production. The Oreshnik is classified as an intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) with a range between 3,000 and 5,500 kilometers (approximately 1,864–3,418 miles), significantly extending Russia’s strike capability.
The missile is designed to travel at hypersonic speeds exceeding Mach 5 (about 6,175 km/h or 3,836 mph), significantly faster than conventional missiles.
According to the UK Defence Ministry, Russia’s development of the Oreshnik missile likely began before its withdrawal from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty in February 2019, which had previously banned the development of intermediate-range ballistic missiles.
The missile’s cost and technological sophistication also suggest it is more expensive than other systems Russia has used in its ongoing war with Ukraine.
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