On December 26, US analysts reported the discovery of the Oreshnik ballistic missile system in eastern Belarus. They reached this conclusion after analyzing satellite imagery provided by Planet Labs.
The study was conducted by Jeffrey Lewis and Michael Duitsman of Middlebury College, together with Decker Eveleth of the CNA Corporation. After reviewing the available imagery, they concluded that the system is deployed on the grounds of the former Krychev-6 military airfield near the town of Krychev in the Mogilev region. By their assessment, the site is located approximately five kilometers from Russia’s Smolensk region.
The airfield lies about 180 kilometers from Ukraine, 370 kilometers from Latvia, 400 kilometers from Lithuania, and 540 kilometers from Poland. The researchers said they are 90% confident that the object captured in the images is indeed the Oreshnik system. A source cited by the agency noted that these findings align with assessments by US intelligence.
Earlier, Alexander Lukashenko said that the Oreshnik missile system has been on combat duty in Belarus since December 17. Oreshnik is classified as an experimental intermediate-range ballistic missile system, with an estimated range of up to 5,500 kilometers. According to Russian authorities, Russia’s armed forces used the system for the first time in November 2024, carrying out a missile strike on Dnipro.