Lukashenko Announces Arrival of "Oreshnik" in Belarus
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, during his address to delegates of the All-Belarusian People’s Assembly (APN), stated that the long-promised Russian missile complex “Oreshnik” is now in Belarus.
According to him, the «Oreshnik» has been on the country’s territory «since yesterday» and is assuming combat duty.
The day before, Vladimir Putin had already stated that within Russia itself, the «Oreshnik» would be put on combat duty by the end of the year.
Belarus had previously indicated the same timeframe for receiving the «Oreshnik» from Russia.
The «Oreshnik» is a Russian experimental mobile missile complex and a medium-range ballistic missile of the same name. According to some military experts, the «Oreshnik» is a modification of the RS-26 «Rubezh» complex.
On November 28, 2024, Putin announced that the «Oreshnik» had been put into serial production by Russian factories. Then, on August 1, 2025, he announced that the first serial-produced «Oreshnik» complex had been manufactured and already delivered to the troops. However, there was confusion regarding the timeline because in December, Putin stated that the «Oreshnik» would only enter combat duty by the end of the year.