Belarus’ Oreshnik Deployed at Former Airfield, 4 km from Russian Border

American researchers have identified the likely location of the Oreshnik medium-range missile system in the Republic of Belarus.

Jeffrey Lewis, director of the Nonproliferation Studies Program at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in Monterey, reported in his blog ArmsControlWonk.com.

Russia and Belarus apparently decided to deploy the Oreshnik on the territory of the Krychev-6 airfield, located in the east of the Mogilev region.

The location of the positions was determined by Planet Labs’ analysis of satellite imagery of potentially suitable locations.

Analysts first examined the former locations of Soviet Pioneer missile systems (GRAU index 15P645, NATO classification SS-20). There were about 15 such positions in Belarus, but Lukashenko claimed 30 different options. In addition, the self-proclaimed president of Belarus explicitly mentioned the Mogilev region as a possible deployment site.

The researchers decided to pay attention to abandoned airfields as well. The analysts found that near Krychev-6, the railroad infrastructure was restored and a secure railway station was built. The appearance of the structures corresponds to typical shelters that were built in the USSR and modern Russia in the interests of the Strategic Missile Forces. Accordingly, Oreshnyk will be delivered to Belarus by rail.

The airfield has also begun construction of concrete structures directly on the former runway. This shows that there are no prospects for using the airport for its intended purpose.

An assessment of the area prepared for the Oreshnyk allows analysts to assume that Krychev-6 can house a maximum of 2-3 launchers, not a full-fledged missile regiment.

The territory of the newly created missile base is actually located near the Russian-Belarusian border. The distance from the prepared positions to the state border line is about 4 km.

Such proximity to the Smolensk region of the Russian Federation probably illustrates the purely symbolic nature of the deployment of weapons on Belarusian territory. The choice of the deployment site was driven by Moscow’s political considerations, not military expediency. However, given the characteristics of the Oreshnik, the missile’s flight time from Belarus to European capitals is a matter of minutes (for example, to Warsaw – up to 3 minutes).

The distance to the nearest point of the Ukrainian border is about 160 km. This distance should guarantee protection against defeat by the ATACMS missile modifications available to Ukraine.

It is worth noting that analysts have not yet recorded the construction of a nuclear warhead storage base. This only emphasizes the lack of any autonomy in Belarus regarding the use of Russian nuclear weapons. At the same time, satellite images from December 2025 show that construction work at Krychev-6 is ongoing.