Belarus to deploy Russia's Oreshnik missile system in December, TASS reports

MOSCOW (Reuters) -Belarus will deploy Russia's new Oreshnik intermediate-range hypersonic missile system in December, Russian state-run TASS news agency reported on Tuesday, citing Natalya Eismont, spokesperson for Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.

Eismont said that preparations for the deployment were nearing completion.

Earlier, Lukashenko said the deployment was a response to what he called Western escalation. The Oreshnik missiles featured in joint Russian-Belarusian military exercises last month.

Russia first used the Oreshnik - hazel tree in Russian - missile against Ukraine in November 2024, targeting a defence enterprise in Dnipro.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said he had authorised that strike in retaliation for Ukraine's use of U.S. and British long-range missiles on Russian territory. He later threatened further strikes, including on "decision-making centres" in Kyiv, if such attacks continued.

Putin has said the Oreshnik is impossible to intercept and has destructive power comparable to a nuclear weapon, though Western experts have questioned these assertions.

(Reporting by Anton KolodyazhnyyWriting by Maxim RodionovEditing by Gareth Jones)

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