Russian missile brigade equipped with Oreshniks deployed in Belarus, Ukraine's military intelligence says

Russia's 101st Missile Brigade, equipped with the Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missile system, is deployed in Belarus, Ukraine's military intelligence chief Oleh Ivashchenko said in an interview published on Sept. 7.

The interview comes more than half a year after President Volodymyr Zelensky said Belarus already "fully or partially" hosts Russia's Oreshnik missile system, reporting that Russia has already completed "preparatory, technical work." Zelensky described the move as a major escalation risk.

The Oreshnik is a missile believed to be a modified version of the Rubezh surface-to-surface missile. Its high speed makes it exceptionally difficult to intercept and poses a significant challenge to Ukrainian air defenses. It is designed to carry nuclear warheads, but the Oreshnik missiles previously launched at Ukraine did not carry nuclear warheads.

Russian President Vladimir Putin claims it is unstoppable, a claim disputed by military experts.

The damage from the three known attacks in which Russia deployed Oreshnik has been minimal. Russia first used an Oreshnik against Ukraine in November 2024, striking the city of Dnipro. The second time Russia deployed Oreshnik was in its large-scale attack on western Ukraine, including the city of Lviv. Most recently, Russia launched an attack involving an Oreshnik missile in May on Bila Tserkva, a town about 80 kilometers (50 miles) south of Kyiv.

Speaking to the Ukrainian news agency Ukrinform, Ivashchenko also said that Kyiv is concerned about Belarus granting Moscow permission to deploy radio signal repeaters on its territory, which help adjust Russian Shahed drone strikes on civilian and critical infrastructure in Ukraine.

"And if Belarus did not grant such permission, this indicates that Minsk no longer controls Russia's activities on its own territory," Ivashchenko said, as quoted by Ukrinform.

Ivashchenko added in the interview that while Russia seeks to use Belarus' territory and its military resources for its war efforts against Ukraine, Kyiv currently sees no signs that Minsk is preparing to enter Russia's war against Ukraine. He assessed that the threat from Belarus, north of Ukraine, is low.

Belarus, ruled by dictator Alexander Lukashenko since 1994, is among Moscow's closest allies and has provided political and military support to Russia since the beginning of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.