NATO should treat Oreshnik missiles in Belarus as legitimate military target, Zelenskyy says

Iryna Kutielieva — 23 February, 13:44
NATO should treat Oreshnik missiles in Belarus as legitimate military target, Zelenskyy says
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Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said NATO should regard Russia's medium-range Oreshnik missiles deployed in Belarus as a legitimate military target.

Source: Zelenskyy in an interview with Zerkalo (Mirror), a Belarusian opposition media outlet, as reported by European Pravda

Details: Zelenskyy said Russia and Belarus are putting on a "show" around the deployment of Oreshnik on Belarusian territory because the full system has not yet been delivered there and "only the relevant vehicles" have arrived.

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He said the aim of these moves is to intimidate Europe.

Quote: "In my view, NATO should treat Oreshnik as a legitimate target. Ukraine, for its part, will assess this threat… But he [Alexander Lukashenko] should not play games, because after these steps the Russians will bring Oreshnik into Belarus without consulting Lukashenko."

Background:

  • Speaking in Davos at the World Economic Forum, Zelenskyy pointed out the threat to Europe posed by Russia's medium-range Oreshnik ballistic missile deployed in Belarus.
  • Lukashenko said in December that the Russian Oreshnik missile system had been placed on combat duty.
  • After that, Zelenskyy said he expected greater pressure on Russia from Western partners.

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Zelenskyy Belarus
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