Belarus is likely to form a new military brigade armed with Iskanders: the media released satellite images
Kyiv • UNN
In Belarus, two new hangars resembling shelters for Iskander missile systems are being built in a military unit in Osipovichi, as well as abandoned barracks and an administrative building are being reconstructed, which provides for the potential placement of additional Iskander complexes capable of carrying nuclear weapons.
In Belarus, two new hangars are being built on the territory of a military unit in Osipovichi, Mogilev region – they are similar in size and appearance to shelters for Iskanders, which were built here a year ago. Reconstruction of an abandoned barracks and administrative building continues there. The Belarusian service Radio Liberty published satellite images of these hangars, reports UNN.
According to journalists, the 465th missile brigade is based in artillery military unit No. 12147, among other things. At least one of its divisions is armed with the Iskander-M operational-tactical missile system, which can carry nuclear weapons. There may be two such units in Belarus.Iskander is a Russian family of operational-tactical missile systems, its main purpose is to destroy the air defense systems of a potential enemy, as well as important objects (bridges, warehouses, command posts and communication centers, planes and helicopters at airfields, infrastructure facilities, clusters of troops and equipment). The official range of Iskander-M missiles is up to 500 km, which means that missiles located in Belarus can threaten almost the entire territory of Poland, Lithuania and Latvia, as well as most of the territory of Ukraine.
A satellite image from the Planet Labs Service, obtained on May 19, 2024, shows that construction is taking place in a significant part of the military unit where the Iskanders are located. In particular, the reconstruction of two abandoned buildings continues. This is probably a barracks and canteen or headquarters, because they look very similar to those that already exist on the territory of the unit.On the right side of the photo, you can see that two hangars are being built, which in size and appearance absolutely correspond to the hangar that was built a year ago to store Iskanders. Its construction lasted from autumn 2022 to April 2023. Next to the new hangars, you can see the contours of two more large foundations of unknown purpose.
According to the calculations of journalists, each of these hangars can accommodate 12 combat vehicles. This is exactly the size of the standard Iskander division in the Russian army. It includes up to 6 different types of equipment: a command and staff vehicle, a life support vehicle, a self-propelled rocket launcher, a transport and charging vehicle, a mobile information preparation point, and a control and maintenance vehicle.
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According to Radio Liberty, Lukashenko announced the transfer of the first Iskander missile systems to Belarus during a meeting with Putin on December 19, 2022. Already in February 2023, after training at Russian training grounds, the Belarusian military began to operate them independently.
On March 25, 2023, Putin announced the deployment of tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus. In April 2023, the Belarusian military trained in the handling of tactical nuclear weapons.
