The Russian Oreshnik missile system will be put on combat duty in Belarus in December, the spokeswoman for Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko told TASS, BTA reported.
"The work on creating conditions for the deployment of "Oreshnik" in the Republic of Belarus is being completed," said Natalia Eismont. "It will be put on combat duty in December of this year, and this ends all talks about whether or not there will be "Oreshnik", Eismont added.
Earlier, Lukashenko said that the deployment of hypersonic ballistic missiles "Oreshnik" in Belarus is in response to an escalation caused by the West, notes Reuters.
Last month, the missiles were included in joint military maneuvers of the Russian and Belarusian armies.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko criticized Lithuania on Monday for closing border crossings with Belarus, saying it was "absurd", Reuters reported. Lukashenko accused Vilnius of waging a hybrid war, Russian media reported.
Belarusian Prime Minister Inga Ruginiene said yesterday that her country would start shooting down smugglers' balloons coming from Belarus that had repeatedly entered the airspace of the Baltic state.
At the same time, Lukashenko said that the deployment of the "Oreshnik" missile system in Belarus was not an aggressive move and was aimed at ensuring security, the Belarusian news agency Belta reported. Russia and Belarus have no interest in escalation, President Lukashenko said.