“Russia is likely deploying new Oreshnik hypersonic ballistic missiles at a former airbase in eastern Belarus near the city of Krychev, two American researchers have concluded based on satellite images.”, — write: www.pravda.com.ua
Source: Reuters, “European Truth”
Details: Jeffrey Lewis of the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in California and Decker Eveleth of the CNA research and analysis organization in Virginia identified the potential location of “Oreshnik” using images from the commercial satellite company Planet Labs.
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Lewis and Eveleth said they were 90 percent certain the Oreshnik launchers would be located at a former air base near Krychev, about 307 km east of Minsk and 478 km southwest of Moscow.American researchers said analysis of images by Planet Labs revealed hasty construction that began between August 4 and 12 and bore the hallmarks of a Russian strategic missile base.
One of the “indisputable pieces of evidence” in the Nov. 19 photo is a fenced-in “military rail transshipment facility” to which missiles, their mobile launchers and other components can be delivered by train, Eveleth said.
Another feature, Lewis said, is the pouring of a concrete pad at the end of the runway, which was then covered with earth, which he believes “is consistent with a disguised launch pad.”
According to the Reuters source, the assessment of the researchers generally coincides with the conclusions of the American special services.
It will be recalled that the self-proclaimed president of Belarus, Oleksandr Lukashenko, announced last week that the Russian Oreshnik missile complex had been put on combat duty.