Belarus builds nuclear site near Ukraine, sparking NATO concerns

In Osipovichi, Belarus, in the Mogilev region, a new military base is being built, which is to house nuclear weapons - according to findings from "The New York Times". "Some of the recently built structures there have features that are unique to nuclear storage facilities at bases inside Russia" it reads.

The facility is located approximately 200 km to the north of the border with Ukraine, on the territory of a military warehouse near the city of Osipovichi.

"For example, a new, highly secure area is surrounded by three layers of fencing, in addition to the existing security perimeter of the entire base. Another telltale sign is a covered loading area connected to what appears to be a concealed Soviet-era underground bunker," writes "NYT."

Hans Kristensen from the Federation of American Scientists, who analyzed this location, stated that the development of the nuclear situation in Belarus "appear designed to unnerve NATO’s easternmost member states, but will not give Russia a significant new military advantage in the region."

Nuclear warheads are usually stored near military bases where such weapons are located. The proposed nuclear warehouse is on the same territory as the Belarusian Iskander missile systems, which can be used to launch nuclear or conventional warheads. Russia provided Belarus with Iskander missiles in 2022.

William Moon, an independent consultant and former official of the Pentagon's Defense Threat Reduction Agency, told "The Times" that the project to modernize the base in Osipovichi, with triple fencing, a single main entrance, and an emergency exit, resembles Russian nuclear warhead storage sites he has personally seen. Moon also collaborated with Russia on nuclear warhead security.

Osipovichi is part of nuclear history. As "NYT" writes, the same location was likely used to store nuclear weapons during the Cold War. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, all nuclear weapons were removed from Belarus.

On May 6, the Kremlin announced it would conduct military exercises with soldiers stationed near Ukraine, to test the capacity for the use of tactical nuclear weapons. The next day, the Belarusian Minister of Defence told state media, that "testing of the tactical missile system Iskander and other nuclear weapons delivery systems has begun."