BORISOV, 10 December (BelTA) – The entire launch vehicle of the Russian missile system Oreshnik is Belarusian. Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko made the statement as he talked to personnel of the firefighting vehicle manufacturing enterprise OOO Pozhsnab in Borisov, BelTA has learned.
Aleksandr Lukashenko said: “Oreshnik’s entire launch vehicle is Belarusian. Except the missile. The manufacturing rate localization is extremely high. I told him [the president of Russia]: ‘We are not talking about the missile. If we have to, we will make it together. We have sufficient competences in that regard. We will help just the way we did as we built the nuclear power plant. But we will make the launch vehicle. [Minsk Wheel Tractor Plant] MZKT makes them. And it makes even more serious things. This is why let’s advance together’.”
“The decision has been made. It is our defense. I have to protect my people, who have elected me president. It is my key obligation. And security is a sacred thing for a president,” the Belarusian leader stressed. “[Oreshnik is] a powerful weapon. We need to protect ourselves. We would never create it [on our own] from zero to the missile. It costs a huge amount of money and requires technologies. It needs many generations. This is why this question was asked and I thank Vladimir Vladimirovich [Putin, President of Russia] for saying yes to it.”
“Certainly, we will make launch vehicles on our own. Well, Russians will supply us with missiles for free. In the second half of the next year. We are waiting. We will see how it pans out,” the head of state added.
Aleksandr Lukashenko once again underlined that Oreshnik is a very powerful weapon with a colossal impact. The strike at the Yuzhmash plant in Ukraine demonstrated it. “Missile weapons as well as other things were made over there in the time of the Soviet Union. And then the missiles were fitted with nuclear warheads. A huge plant. 4-5 floors under the surface. It is no more. One Oreshnik strike and this plant is virtually gone. All the way down.”
The president stated that the decision to deploy Oreshnik missiles in Belarus had stirred up the entire world for a reason. “Why are they alarmed? I told him [president of Russia]: Why do we have to worry? Americans together with Germans have said that tomorrow they will deploy medium-range missiles in Europe. Those are not Oreshnik missiles but they are medium-range. We take steps in response.”
Aleksandr Lukashenko said he expects the deployment of Oreshnik missile systems to provide a deterring effect just like the tactical nuclear weapons that had also been deployed in Belarus. While the use of the nuclear weapons comes with great responsibility, the Oreshnik missile systems represent a conventional weapon although they are very powerful.
“If we have powerful conventional weapons, then Poles, who are busy buying tanks, some APCs and missiles from Korea to America, will have to think hard before invading our country. Because the response will be serious. And indeed there is no antidote to this weapon. It is impossible to intercept, shoot down, and so on,” the president stated.
He did not rule out the possibility that the decision may not be quite a popular step ahead of the presidential election. “But we don’t live for one day and for one election. It is very important for us to preserve our security in the future. So that you and we could calmly go to the enterprise to work and make money,” the Belarusian leader concluded.
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