In what has been perceived as an effort to boost Russia's power to deliver missiles across Europe, Moscow is positioning its nuclear-capable hypersonic ballistic missiles at a former airbase in eastern Belarus.
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A Reuters report said researchers, studying satellite imagery, claimed that they could be 90 per cent certain that mobile Oreshnik missile launchers would be positioned at the former airbase near Krichev, which is 307 km east of the Belarusian capital, Minsk.
John Foreman, an expert with Chatham House, was quoted as saying that Russia aims to deploy Oreshnik in Belarus to extend its range further into Europe. This, according to him, is in response to the US plan to station the country's missiles in Germany.
This is the first time since the Cold War that Russia is stationing its nuclear assets outside its territory.
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Belarus and Russia share close ties, including in the energy sector, transport, and manufacturing. Colonel Andrey Bogodel, deputy head of the General Staff faculty at the Military Academy of Belarus, had recently said the two countries may form a division equipped with Oreshnik missile systems.
Belarusian Defence Minister Viktor Khrenin had earlier claimed that the deployment of the Oreshnik missile system in the country is a reaction to the aggressive actions of the West.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko had also said that up to 10 Oreshniks would be based in the country. He had confirmed that the first few missiles had already been deployed.
However, according to Pavel Podvig, a Geneva-based expert on Moscow's nuclear forces, this move may not exactly give Russia any additional military advantage other than assuring Belarus of its protection.
Jeffrey Lewis of the Middlebury Institute of International Studies claimed that there is no military reason to put the system in Belarus, only a political one.
