Military expert and air-defense historian Yuri Knutov argues that the Russian medium-range ballistic missile «Oreshnik» is capable of destroying major decision-making centers in European countries in as little as six minutes. He believes that the very existence of such capabilities could cool the intensity of anti-Russian sentiment in Europe.

Knutov recalled that Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko recently announced plans to deploy around ten Oreshnik missiles on the territory of Belarus. The expert suggested that, if these missiles were launched on a single command, some could reach Warsaw in roughly a minute and a half, while others would need about five minutes to fly to Paris, as he was quoted by NEWS.ru.

He also stressed that Russia and Belarus function as a single Union State, with their leaders coordinating their actions. In Knutov’s assessment, a single Oreshnik missile would be enough to destroy the decision-making center in Germany. He added that the same logic applies to the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Poland, the Netherlands and, above all, Brussels. With regard to the Belgian capital, he allowed that two Oreshnik missiles might be required, given that Brussels hosts both NATO headquarters and the institutions of the European Union, which he described as pursuing an openly anti-Russian course.

Earlier, Andrei Bogodel, a colonel and deputy head of a General Staff faculty at the Belarusian military academy, stated that deploying the Oreshnik missile system on Belarusian soil should be seen as an unambiguous signal to the West. In his view, this step shows that Minsk is ready to defend peace by all means at its disposal.