Interesting precedent: Defense Express on Lukashenko's readiness to deploy Oreshnik systems in Belarus

He shared this insight during an interview with Espreso.

"There’s a peculiar detail: most special chassis, including those for missile systems used by the Russian army, are manufactured in Belarus at the Minsk Wheel Tractor Plant. This creates a unique situation—if Putin wants to mass-produce more Oreshnik systems, especially their launchers, he’ll have to collaborate with Lukashenko.

On the other hand, we have an interesting precedent. During various geopolitical maneuvers in the late 2010s, Lukashenko acquired what is formally considered a Belarusian missile system, the 'Polonez,' which is, in fact, Chinese," the military expert remarked.

According to him, Belarus pretended to have developed its own missile industry—akin to the infamous "Belarusian shrimp" phenomenon—and thus was able to create the Polonez missile complex.

"At first glance, it may seem like grotesque absurdity when one mustachioed dictator asks another clean-shaven dictator for missiles that don’t exist. However, this could be part of hidden bargaining, where Lukashenko maneuvers between Moscow and Beijing. There was already an intriguing slap to the Russians when Chinese and Belarusians held military exercises in their backyard without inviting Russia. Thus, beneath this grotesque scenario may lie intriguing details about the history of Lukashenko, Putin, and the Oreshnik," Kyrychevskyi concluded.

• On December 26, Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko announced his readiness to deploy up to 10 Oreshnik missile systems on Belarusian territory. One such system was used on November 21 to attack the city of Dnipro.