Despite the emphasis on the topic of nuclear weapons in the FAS publication about the garage built on the territory of the 465th Missile Brigade in Asipovichy.
Despite the emphasis on the topic of nuclear weapons in the FAS publication about the garage built on the territory of the 465th Missile Brigade in Asipovichy, there is a phrase about the spotted “allegedly nuclear-capable Iskander missile launchers it received from Russia.”
And this is important, because it’s impossible to learn visually or from satellite images whether these Iskanders can or can’t carry nuclear warheads.
However, chronology is important for understanding. And the fact is that these Iskanders arrived in Belarus back in February 2023, a month before Putin said that he would build a storage facility for tactical nuclear weapons on the territory of Belarus. And as we wrote earlier, the new hangar was built to store exactly these new missile systems for the 465th Brigade. Because when they arrived in February, they were literally standing under canopies made of slate and boards. Well, and it would be logical enough to assume that TNW equipment can’t stand outdoors and wait for a garage to be built for it.
On the other hand, we know that the brigade’s crews had practical training in April in Russia, where, among other things, they studied issues related to the maintenance and use of tactical nuclear warheads of the Iskander-M missile system. So the soldiers of this brigade probably have some knowledge regarding TNW with Iskanders, and this should be taken into account.
What’s even more debatable is the garage’s connection with PMC Wagner.
Yes, the geographical proximity could be noted — only 16.5 km straight from the garage to the camp of PMC Wagner, but let’s not forget the key point: Iskanders arrived in February 2023, Prigozhin’s rebellion was in June 2023, and organized movement of Wagner mercenaries to Belarus began in July. The gap between the first and the last event is 5 months.
Especially since the hangar for Iskanders is built on the territory of the park of the 465th Brigade, which is guarded by conscripts of the Belarusian Armed Forces, in case anyone thinks that about 4000 people have come to guard a few Iskanders in garages on the territory of a specialized operating military unit.
Thus, the conclusion now is the following: there is no direct connection between the appearance of the camp of PMC Wagner in Tsel village and Iskanders in Asipovichy. This connection looks far-fetched. We continue to follow the situation.
