KGB chief ridicules Zelensky’s claims about Oreshnik intel

Locations of the nuclear-capable hypersonic missiles are a closely guarded secret, the head of the Belarusian counterintelligence agency said

The chief of the Belarusian counterintelligence agency has dismissed claims by Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky that Kiev knows the location of Russia’s Oreshnik missiles deployed in Belarus.

Zelensky stated during a visit to Poland last week that Ukrainian special services “have an understanding where the deployment will take place,” claiming they are sharing intelligence with foreign partners to “assess this threat and deliberate their reactions.”

The chairman of the Belarusian State Security Committee (KGB), Ivan Tertel, addressed the claim in an interview following his year-end report to President Alexander Lukashenko on Wednesday.

The interest of foreign intelligence in the Oreshnik system is predictable, as are “statements by certain political actors” in neighboring states, Tertel said. Belarusian citizens “can sleep well” knowing the KGB is counteracting the espionage efforts, he added.

The Oreshnik is an intermediate-range hypersonic missile, which Russia unveiled last year with a strike on a Ukrainian arms factory. Some units of the nuclear-capable weapons are to be stationed in Belarus as part of the two nations’ mutual defense arrangement.

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The Belarusian intelligence chief also flagged “transit terrorism” as a major concern, apparently referring to Ukrainian sabotage operations inside Russia. “We realize that, should the situation change, those tactics can be used on Belarusian soil,” he noted.

Moscow has repeatedly accused Kiev of resorting to terrorist attacks due to its inability to achieve success on the battlefield. Many sabotage operations that Russian investigators blame on Ukrainian intelligence services involve the recruitment of locals through coercion or financial incentives.

Tertel noted that such recruitment tactics have allowed foreign intelligence services to dramatically escalate operations in Belarus, adding that his agency has exposed about 70 foreign agents this year, many of whom have been prosecuted.