Slovakia is also on target. Where will Russian nuclear missiles reach? – World – News
Will Moscow deploy more nuclear weapons in Eastern Europe? “Russia’s June 25 announcement of a plan to transfer 9K720 Iskander-M short-range ballistic missiles to Belarus and to modify Belarusian Su-25 aircraft to be capable of carrying nuclear weapons means that both countries are revising their nuclear weapons policies,” the report said. International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS).
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Russian Iskander missile systems can carry both nuclear and conventional warheads.
The authors looked on possible steps by Moscow and Minsk. Russia already has Point-U missiles in Belarus, which can carry nuclear warheads. The missiles have a range of only 120 kilometers, but even that is enough to reach the territory of Lithuania, Latvia or Poland.
Goals for Russia?
The Iskanders shoot further. They have a range of up to 500 kilometers and are currently deployed in the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad. From there, he can target a considerable part of Central and Eastern Europe, including Slovakia and the Czech Republic. But they can also head north to Sweden and Finland, which are on the way to membership in the North Atlantic Alliance.
Of course, Iskanders can also carry nuclear warheads. When Russia sends these short-range missiles to Belarus, there will be another problem for NATO. The Iskanders would then be able to hit targets in Hungary and Romania, and as IISS reports, the missiles would act as protection for Russian soldiers in Transnistria, a separatist region of Moldova.
“Točka-U and Iskander-M are dual systems. This means that they can carry conventional or nuclear warheads, which Russian President Vladimir Putin also mentioned when he spoke about the agreed transfer to Belarus. But it is not clear whether in the case of Iskander can be quickly replaced, as is the case with China’s DF-26 medium-range missile. It is not possible to quickly replace a nuclear warhead with a conventional one and vice versa. If the Iskander warhead is not easily replaceable, Russia would have to keep fully assembled missiles on its territory, and in the event of a crisis, deliver to Belarus, or transport them to Belarus for storage.
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All this is happening against the background of the war that Russia started on February 24 against Ukraine. For more than half a year, Kiev has been resisting a brutal invasion that claimed tens of thousands of lives. Ukraine defends itself thanks to support from the West, which supplies it with weapons.
Russia has been playing the nuclear card, so to speak, since the beginning of the conflict. It often mentions its nuclear arsenal, but experts say that Moscow threatens it in order to dissuade the West from helping Ukraine. This also includes the Kremlin’s dangerous statements in connection with the Zaporozhye atomic power plant, which is occupied by Russian troops.
NATO may have a problem
Most experts believe that, although it cannot be completely ruled out that the Kremlin would reach for nuclear weapons in a conflict against Ukraine, it is extremely unlikely. However, the deployment of Iskanders in Belarus could have an impact on NATO’s plans. This was stated for Pravda by Timothy Wright, one of the authors of the mentioned IISS report.
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“If Belarus were to receive Iskander-M missiles, it would complicate NATO’s defense planning. Other alliance territories would come within range of ground-launched short-range ballistic missiles. In the event that nuclear weapons return to Belarus, it may largely compensate for the fact that in terms of conventional weapons, Russia is still weaker than NATO. It is also that most of his armed forces are currently fighting in Ukraine,” Wright explained to Pravda.
The alliance has been dealing with the anti-missile defense of the countries of its eastern wing, including Slovakia, for a long time.
“So far, we have no evidence that Russia has transferred to Belarus an Iskander-M short-range ballistic missile. Given that Alexander Lukashenko has been very vocal since 2016 about moving this way, it is likely that the local media reported on the deployment of the missiles, Wright said.
However, according to the expert, there is some confusion about which Belarusian planes will be modified and possibly equipped with nuclear weapons. “Putin initially offered to modify the Belarusian attack aircraft Su-25, but the media in the country claimed that the changes concern the Su-24 machines. However, they were decommissioned in Belarus about 10 years ago. If the Su-24 aircraft were really selected for the nuclear mission, it’s questionable whether they could be renovated and modified in such a short time,” Wright recalled.