Zelenskyy criticises West over Oreshnik deployment in Belarus, says Ukraine knows missile launch sites

STANISLAV POHORILOV - 19 December, 15:14

Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Photo: Getty Images

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said Ukraine knows where the Oreshnik missile system will be deployed in Belarus. He also alluded to the fact that Kyiv understands how to counter the weapon and criticised Ukraine's Western partners for not sanctioning companies supplying its components.

Source: Zelenskyy at a press conference in Warsaw on 19 December alongside Polish President Karol Nawrocki, as reported by European Pravda

Quote: "The relocation of Oreshnik to Belarus is being completed. We understand where it will be, where it will be deployed. We are passing this information to our partners. I think our partners themselves can assess this threat and understand how to respond to it."

Details: Zelenskyy said that Ukraine had warned European and US partners about the planned deployment of Oreshnik in Belarus.

Quote: "We revealed Oreshnik's range. This is a threat to many European countries, including Poland, Germany and other countries."

More details: Zelenskyy said that Russia has used Oreshnik in Ukraine and it cannot be shot down by drones but added that "we understand how to fight it".

He said that Ukraine had asked Western partners to impose sanctions on companies supplying components for Oreshnik, without which Russia could not expand its production.

Quote: "I haven't seen those sanctions imposed, to be honest. For now, we assume Russia will continue producing Oreshnik. Thank God, it's not yet capable of producing a lot of it, despite whatever claims it makes."

More details: Zelenskyy added that if Ukraine's Western partners, including the US, are making "many diplomatic efforts to end the war", they should also press Russia not to deploy Oreshnik closer to Europe near Poland's border.

Background:

Self-proclaimed Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko said earlier that the Russian Oreshnik missile system had already been delivered to Belarus.
Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin claimed that the Oreshnik ballistic missile system will be put on combat duty by the end of 2025.
Lieutenant General Vasyl Maliuk, Head of the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU), announced on 31 October that one of Russia's three Oreshnik medium-range ballistic missiles had been destroyed by Defence Intelligence of Ukraine (DIU), the SSU and the Foreign Intelligence Service (FIS).
The Russians used the Rubezh intercontinental ballistic missile for the first time in an attack on Dnipro on the morning of 21 November. This missile is a potential carrier of nuclear warheads.
Putin confirmed that the Russians used an Oreshnik medium-range missile during the morning attack on Dnipro on 21 November.
The United States officially confirmed that Russia had struck Dnipro on the morning of 21 November with a ballistic missile derived from an RS-26 Rubezh intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).
On 21 November, Russian troops attacked Ukraine using a ballistic missile, likely from the Kedr missile system, as reported by Defence Intelligence of Ukraine.
On 28 November, Putin said that he might use the new Oreshnik medium-range ballistic missile against "decision-making centres in Kyiv".

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