A military depot in central Belarus has recently been upgraded with additional security perimeters and an access point that indicate it could be intended for housing Russian nuclear warheads for Belarus’ Russia-supplied Iskander missile launchers The upgraded enclosure is located inside an existing military depot east of the town of Ashipovichy Leaked documents on Discord indicated that in February 2023 the CIA reported that “a senior officer from the Russian Ministry of Defense inspected a facility in the vicinity of Asipivochy [sic] for potential upgrades” to serve as “a nuclear warhead storage facility in Belarus” (see excerpt of CIA leaked report below) This part of a leaked CIA document reported Russian inspection of Asipovichy for potential nuclear warhead storage A satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies shows that part of the depot near Asipovichy has since been upgraded with a quadruple-fence security perimeter and a roof-covered guarded access point (see image below) Upgrades to Asipovichy depot now shows quadruple security perimeter Satellite images show that construction began at the facility around the time of the reported visit by the senior Russian official with the initial construction of a double-layer security perimeter That would be insufficient for storage of nuclear warheads In October 2023 construction of a new perimeter began inside the existing security perimeter and the Maxar image from late-January 2024 shows what appears to be a total of four security perimeters The construction of the added perimeters shows significant digging for what could potentially be cables and various sensors Trees within the new inner perimeter have also been cleared by approximately 20 meters away from the fencing these upgrades would more closely resemble the level of physical protection that Russian authorities would require for storage of nuclear weapons Russian and Belarusian statements over the past two years have repeatedly claimed that nuclear weapons had been brought to Belarus, but we had previously not seen clear evidence that facilities had been readied for that purpose Earlier today, under the headline “Russian Nuclear Weapons Are Now In Belarus,” Foreign Policy reported that “Western officials,” including the Lithuanian defense minister “confirmed the news of the deployment.” The article says that “a senior Lithuanian diplomat and other Western officials indicated to Foreign Policy that Russia had built specific storage facilities and railway systems in Belarus to potentially house a nuclear arsenal.” It remains unclear if the confirmations referred to nuclear-capable launchers or the actual warheads for those launchers But the upgrade at the Asipovichy depot shows security features that potentially could match upgrades required for nuclear warhead storage at the same facility that the Russian defense official apparently inspected one year ago If nuclear warheads have indeed been moved to Belarus, it does not give Russia a significant military advantage in eastern Europe. Russia already maintains modernized nuclear storage facilities in Kaliningrad and has long had the ability to target NATO countries with nuclear weapons the deployment appears designed to unnerve NATO’s eastern-most member states and highlight Russia’s status as a nuclear power This research was carried out with generous contributions from the the New-Land Foundation Nuclear weapons budgeting is like agreeing to buying a house without knowing the sales price The United States Air Force has forward deployed about one-third of its B-2 stealth bombers to Diego Garcia or about half the B-2s considered fully operational at any given time the campaign to abolish nuclear weapons has experienced numerous wins that were celebrated at the Meeting of State Parties a new military brigade equipped with the Iskander systems appears to be forming two new hangars resembling shelters for the Iskander systems are under construction These hangars are similar to structures built a year ago a neglected barracks and an administrative building are being reconstructed These developments have been documented through satellite imagery obtained by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty includes a division equipped with the Iskander-M a missile system capable of carrying nuclear warheads There could potentially be two such units in Belarus reveals extensive construction activities at the military base housing the Iskander systems The image shows the reconstruction of two neglected buildings likely a barracks and a dining hall or headquarters two new hangars resembling those built for the Iskander systems last year are being erected with the outlines of two additional large foundations visible nearby Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker Shortly after a Russian defense official inspected possible nuclear weapons storage site near Asipovichy construction of additional security perimeters began at depot New satellite images show that the construction of a double-fenced security perimeter is underway at a weapons depot near the town of Asipovichy in central Belarus The US Central Intelligence Agency reported in late-February 2023 that a senior officer from the Russian Ministry of Defense had inspected a facility in the vicinity of Asipovichy (occasionally also spelled Osipovichi) for a potential upgrade to nuclear weapons storage Asipovichy is the deployment area for the dual-capable Iskander (SS-26) launchers that Russia supplied to Belarus in 2022. Interestingly, the weapons depot featured in this article is roughly only 25 kilometers southeast of a vacant military base that, according to the New York Times could be used to house relocated Wagner Group fighters in Belarus imply any connection between the Wagner Group and Russian nuclear deployments in Belarus which would be overseen by the Russian Ministry of Defence’s 12th Main Directorate (also known as the 12th GUMO) President Vladimir Putin announced in March that Russia plans to complete a nuclear weapons storage site in Belarus by July 1st, 2023, but he later modified the timeline to July 7th-8th apparently due to delays with preparing the storage facilities It is important to emphasize upfront that at this stage we are not able to make a positive identification that this site is intended for or will definitively be used to store Russian nuclear weapons in Belarus while the construction timeline and some signatures correlate with a potential nuclear storage site and these raise uncertainty about the purpose of the upgrade at the Asipovichy depot we are underwhelmed by the lack of visual evidence of the construction and infrastructure that would be expected to support the deployment of Russian nuclear weapons in Belarus We have also surveyed satellite imagery of numerous other military facilities at locations mentioned in various reports but we have yet to find visual evidence that conclusively indicates the presence of an active nuclear weapons facility on the territory of Belarus Below we survey facilities at various locations in Belarus that have been mentioned in the public debate as potential transit or deployment areas for nuclear-capable forces or even nuclear weapons Asipovichy is an important region because it is the location of new nuclear-capable Islander short-range missile launchers that Russia transferred to Belarus in 2022. One Belarusian news report stated the transfer happened in December but satellite images show what appear to be Iskander launchers at the training site to the west of Asipovichy in August and October 2022 (see images below) Iskander launchers have been observed at a training range west of Asipovichy several times The Russian Ministry of Defense announced in late-April 2023 that Belarusian personnel had completed training in maintenance and use of “special tactical warheads [Russ: “boyepripas”] for the Iskander-M operational tactical missile system” at one of Russia’s Southern Military District ranges in early April The Belarusian brigade base for the Iskander launchers is thought to be located in the southern outskirts of Asipovichy roughly seven miles west of the depot undergoing upgrades Some five miles to the west of that garrison there is a training range where Iskander launches have been seen on several occasions (see image below) Belarusian Iskander military photos were geolocation to the training range west of Asipovichy Most Russian Iskander bases have extensive support facilities as well as a distinctive missile storage site (see image below) No similar facility has been found near Asipovichy The Belarusian military probably uses different storage standards and could potentially use the dirt-covered bunkers in the south-west corner of the facility The Belarusian Iskander base does not include the distinctive missile storage site found at most Russian Iskander bases A few Russian Iskander bases also do not have the more elaborate missile storage site That includes the Iskander base in Kaliningrad An examination of the Lida base area shows no physical indications of upgrades of the kind that are thought would be required to support nuclear weapons deployment The very latest imagery shows early construction of what appears to be an additional security perimeter around the munitions storage area at the base (see image below) but as in the case of the Asipovichy upgrade a second fence security perimeter does not necessarily suggest a nuclear weapons upgrade; it could simply be improvement of an existing security infrastructure Construction of a second security perimeter at Lida Air Base has begun but there is yet no clear indication this is related to nuclear weapons There have also been some speculations that the Baranavichy Air Base further to the south which is equipped with more modern Su-30SM jets might be a potential candidate for the nuclear mission We are not aware of any official statements to that effect and have not seen any observable indications of physical upgrades needed to support nuclear operations there As with the Iskander base area upgrades near Asipovichy we can’t positively exclude the existence of an undetected facility near the western air bases we don’t see conclusive physical indications of nuclear weapons related upgrades on or near Lida or Baranavichy It is also relevant to mention that both bases are very close to NATO territory; Lida is only about 20 miles (35 kilometers) from Lithuania On June 16th, Putin announced: “The first nuclear weapons have been delivered to Belarus or they could potentially be an attempt to obfuscate where the warheads would actually be coming from Preparation of rail transfer points and storage would require construction of a number of unique security features and support facilities An examination of satellite images of the Prudok station area in Belarus revealed no observable indication of construction needed to safeguard nuclear weapons (see image below) Satellite imagery of the Prudok rail station and depot area reported as the first transfer point of Russian nuclear weapons into Belarus show no observable indication of preparations to nuclear weapons storage It is important to be clear that these satellite images do not prove decisively that the construction at Asipovichy or other known facilities is related to nuclear weapons storage It could potentially be related to non-nuclear weapon systems There are several uncertainties that should be mentioned and carefully considered: the security perimeter has two inner fences less than the three or four normally seen at Russia nuclear weapons storage sites because the standard of at least three layers of fencing is directly correlated with the ability of the fence disturbance system to detect security threats to the complex Fewer layers of fencing (and thus less clear space) could cause the microwave detection system to be accidentally triggered by movement inside the complex itself vegetation has been removed along the new 12-meter wide inner security perimeter Construction is ongoing and there is so far no visual indication of electronic sensors inside the new perimeter Construction of an additional double-fence security perimeter began at a weapons depot east of Asipovichy in central Belarus shortly after a senior Russian defense official inspected a facility in the area for potential storage of nuclear weapons Russian base- and national-level nuclear weapons storage facilities have extensive security features The base-level storage facility near Tver approximately 325 kilometers (200 miles) from the Belarusian border has considerably stronger security features around the weapons bunkers (see image below) The outline of this Russian base-level nuclear weapons storage site near Tver is very different from the Asipovichy site there is no bunker visible inside the enclosure another normal feature of Russian nuclear weapon storage sites nuclear weapons require climate-controlled storage facilities there is no visible segregated housing for the large number of Russian 12th GUMO personnel that would be needed to protect and manage nuclear warheads Fourth, the depot is next to a storage site for conventional high explosives. As other researchers have pointed out it would be highly unusual for conventional and nuclear warheads to be stored within the same perimeter in order to maintain the security of the warheads and to segregate the chain of custody between Russian 12th GUMO personnel and Belarusian army personnel These differences could potentially be explained if the Belarusian site is a temporary transit site and not intended for permanent storage but rather to introduce nuclear weapons in a crisis It is also curious that part of the new double-fence construction extends around a group of buildings that were constructed in 2017-2018 long before any statements were made about deploying Russian nuclear weapons in Belarus rather than actually shift Russian force posture the facility upgrade at Asipovichy is important to monitor given the CIA report about Russia nuclear-related storage inspections in the area our observations and analyses show no clear observable indicators of construction of the facilities we expect would be needed to support transport and deployment of Russian nuclear weapons into Belarus we don’t know what we don’t know and it is of course possible that there are other facilities that we are not aware of that would indicate nuclear weapons activities Positive identification of this and other potential facilities will have to await additional information And we look forward to the contribution of other researchers This research was carried out with generous contributions from the John D European Space Imaging (EUSI) has released satellite images of Wagner Group Base in Belarus The images show increasing activity at the military camp in Tsel a former military base in Asipovichy District of Mogilev Region in Belarus The Tsel camp first appeared in late June 2023 after a supposed agreement between Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin and the Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko to end mutiny against Russian forces The images taken on 19th June show the field of military camp was largely empty The growth of the base signals shows the private army is relocating large numbers of personnel and equipment under the deal with Belarus 31 large vehicles were counted that arrived at Tsel the BBC has geolocated the footage of M5’s northband carriageway ALSO READ: In Photos: Satellite Images Capture Wildfire in Greece Belarusian military may have completed the construction of a new garage complex for the Iskander missile systems they received from Russia, according to the Federation of American Scientists (FAS). It is noted that the garage is located on the territory of the 465th Missile Brigade in Asipovichy Satellite images show that its construction began in October 2022 and was completed in April 2023 the new facility is located only 7 km from a training ground and 12 km from an arsenal that could potentially be upgraded to store nuclear warheads the defense ministers of Russia and Belarus signed an agreement on the deployment of Russian tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus Moscow handed over the Iskander-M missile systems to Minsk capable of launching missiles with nuclear warheads U.S. intelligence has no doubts that Russia has already transported the first batch of tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus. However, the head of the Main Intelligence Directorate, Kyrylo Budanov, believes that Russia will not launch a nuclear strike against Ukraine. The whereabouts of Yevgeny Prigozhin have been largely shrouded in mystery since he mobilized the Wagner Group to carry out a short-lived mutiny against Russia's military leadership last month. But a newly surfaced image of the mercenary organization's leader which was widely circulated across social media on Friday hints that he may now be living in a makeshift tent at a Belarus military camp alongside Wagner fighters who have started training Belarusian soldiers The tent where he was photographed matches those photographed a week before during an official tour of the disused installation led by Belarussian officials. As part of the negotiations to end the Wagner Group's armed rebellion on June 24 before it could reach Moscow the mercenary fighters were given the option to seek exile in Belarus alongside Prigozhin Satellite imagery captured on June 29 and obtained by Insider shows and aerial view of the camp where dozens of new tents were reportedly constructed in the two weeks prior. Photographs taken at the camp by international media last week showed rows of empty tents that are capable of accommodating a few thousand troops it remained unclear how many Wagner fighters actually planned to head to the camp NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters on Tuesday that the military alliance had not seen "any deployment or movement of any Wagner forces into Belarus." the units are drilling the skills of tactical shooting and movement on a battlefield reservists are acquiring engineering and tactical medicine skills," Belta reported "Instructors in some military disciplines are PMC Wagner fighters." Over the past three weeks since his failed mutiny, Prigozhin's whereabouts have been a mystery Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow Prigozin — and a private jet linked to him — were reportedly in St Where Prigozhin has been since then has been anyone's guess But the new image of Prigozhin suggests that he may be at the same military camp where his Wagner mercenaries are training Belarusian soldiers. shared to Twitter by even senior Ukrainian officials shows Prigozhin sitting upright on a small cot in a tent Behind him are two darkened windows. The windows in the photo appear to match those on tents at the military camp being used by Wagner and Belarusian soldiers The floorboards also appear to be the same as ones used in the tents. It's not immediately clear how many Wagner fighters are in Belarus nor is it known if Prigozhin has any role in the training assuming the camp in Belarus is where he is now In the months leading up to Prigozhin's mutiny the Wagner Group played a key role on the battlefield in eastern Ukraine while fighting alongside Russia's regular military Although the rebellion left questions about where Wagner fighters would end up US officials have since said that they aren't fighting in Ukraine anymore. we do not see Wagner forces participating in any significant capacity in support of combat operations in Ukraine," a Pentagon spokesperson told reporters at a Thursday briefing. Wagner forces pulled off the line after the battle for Bakhmut "All equipment and armaments are transported to rear areas where repair and recovery units of the Russian Armed Forces carry out maintenance and prepare them for use for their intended purpose," the defense ministry said A Maxar satellite image appears to show Iskander missile launchers outside new garage at Belarusian base The Belarusian military has completed what appears to be a new garage facility for the allegedly nuclear-capable Iskander missile launchers it received from Russia The new facility was added to an existing base in Asipovichy in central Belarus (53.288 which is home to the 465th Missile Brigade Satellite images indicate construction began in October 2022 and was completed in April 2023 shows what appears to show four 13-meter Iskander launchers (and/or transporters) and two smaller support vehicles outside the garage The missile storage compartment on one of the launchers is open a new Iskander garage was constructed at a Belarusian military base in Asipovichy Russian Iskander missile launchers supplied to Belarus allegedly are capable of firing Russian nuclear warheads this would be the first time since the Cold War that Russia is equipping another country to launch its nuclear weapons and undercut Russian criticism of U.S nuclear sharing arrangements with NATO allies So far there has been no clear visual confirmation of these plans, and public Western intelligence reports have not confirmed that Russia has actually deployed nuclear warheads in Belarus. Russia is thought to keep its non-strategic nuclear warheads in central storage facilities in Russia Analysis of satellite imagery revealed the place of deployment of belarusian Iskander short-range ballistic missiles received by Minsk in February 2023 from russia These missile systems together with Su-25 aircraft adapted specially for carrying nuclear warheads are assets of particular interest for all the nearby countries and their location is an important piece of information Specialists from the Federation of American Scientists have analyzed satellite photos provided by Maxar and detected Iskander systems stationed at the military base near Asipovichy town 40 km from Bobruisk in the middle of the country It is the permanent deployment base of the 465th Missile Brigade of belarusian armed forces Constructions of hangars for Iskanders began in October 2022 The image from July 4th shows four transporter-erector-launchers most likely the 9S552 mobile command points the analysts assume that this location indicates also where the nuclear warheads for Iskander systems could be held there is the 1405th Artillery Ammunition Base (military unit index 42707) in the Vialikaja Haroza village This means that belarus after all decided not to restore the Gomel-30 – central base for storing Soviet-era nuclear weapons which is located in the quite populated village of Zarechie It was the facility that met all safety requirements for a nuclear weapons storage Gomel-30 is only 73 km from Ukraine's border so the decision to not restore such an important facility so close to hostile territories is logical the 1405th Artillery Ammunition Base and the 465th Missile Brigade base are 200 km away from Ukraine it doesn't mean the location is safe from a potential strike Lithuania announced in 2022 that it would consider acquiring HIMARS rocket systems with ATACMS Poland has the AGM-158A JASSM cruise missile with a range of 370 km in service with its Air Force while also looking to get an upgraded JASSM-XR reaching as far as 1,900 km Aug 10, 2021Russian military police patrol the Asipovichy military training ground during the 2017 iteration of the Zapad military exercises in Asipovichy, Belarus. (Brendan Hoffman/Getty Images)WASHINGTON — NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the alliance would keep a close eye on “hybrid activities” by Belarus against alliance member Lithuania, as the former teams up with Russia for the Zapad 2021 military drill next month. In an Aug. 9 tweet, Stoltenberg said he had discussed Belarus’ behavior, including what he called “migratory pressure,” with Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda. “NATO is closely monitoring the situation and considering how we can further assist our ally and maintain safety and security in the region,” he wrote. Lithuanian officials and Western analysts for weeks have flagged the Belarusian regime’s seemingly coordinated push of illegal migration into the tiny European Union member, including from Iraq, Iran and Syria. The simmering standoff is but one puzzle piece in what analysts said is a potentially precarious context for the Zapad exercise. The event will see 12,800 troops training in Belarus from Sept. 10 to Sept. 16, including 2,500 from Russia, according to Russian state-owned news agency Tass. Russian officials have said the exercise will pose no threat to NATO or Europe. Its scenario is based on “a crisis situation emerging in a conflict that breaks out and develops due to the increased activity of outlawed armed gangs, separatist and international terrorist organizations that enjoy external support,” Tass quoted the Belarusian head of the General Staff, Viktor Gulevich, as saying. But according to analysts, the absence of details is concerning. “The lack of transparency is what scares the hell out of people in Lithuania, in Estonia and Poland, and me,” said retired Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges, a former commander of U.S. Army forces in Europe. He noted that equipment left behind by Russian forces in a troop buildup outside Ukraine some months ago could suddenly come into play under the guise of the exercise, for example, creating the kind of military ambiguity that NATO officials have been wanting to avoid. Hodges was speaking Aug. 5 at an event sponsored by the Washington-based Center for European Policy Analysis where he is an analyst. “Lithuania has been at the forefront of hybrid activities that make you wonder what is, and isn’t, Zapad,” added Egle Murauskaite, a Vilnius-based senior researcher and simulation designer with the University of Maryland’s ICONS project. According to Tass, the exercise will entail roughly 140 tanks, 110 artillery pieces and multiple-rocket launchers, and more than 30 aircraft and helicopters. Sebastian Sprenger is associate editor for Europe at Defense News, reporting on the state of the defense market in the region, and on U.S.-Europe cooperation and multi-national investments in defense and global security. Previously he served as managing editor for Defense News. He is based in Cologne, Germany. Facebook pageTwitter feed RSS feedDefense News © 2025 A view of the Belarusian army camp near Tsel village about 90 kilometers (about 55 miles) southeast of Minsk said that Russia’s Wagner military contractor could use the army camp near Tsel if it relocates to Belarus under a deal that ended mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin’s abortive mutiny Leonid Kosinsky speaks to journalists in the Belarusian army camp near Tsel village An indoor view of a tent in the Belarusian army camp near Tsel village Journalists examine the Belarusian army camp near Tsel village said that Russia’s Wagner military contractors could use the army camp near Tsel if it relocates to Belarus under a deal that ended mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin’s abortive mutiny Belarus (AP) — The Belarusian military on Friday showed off a field camp it has offered to Russia’s Wagner military contractor if it relocates to Belarus under a deal that ended its mutiny told international reporters that Wagner troops could use the former Belarusian army camp near Tsel Journalists were shown rows of empty tents that Kosinsky said could accommodate up to 5,000 troops at the camp in the Asipovichy district that was used by the Belarusian army before it was handed over to the territorial defense forces Kosinsky said Wagner representatives haven’t yet inspected the camp to see whether it meets their needs “When the Wagner Group makes a final decision on whether to deploy to Belarus or not they will see where and how to deploy,” he told reporters Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said Thursday that mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin is in Russia and his troops so far have remained at their home camps raising new questions about the deal that ended the extraordinary challenge to President Vladimir Putin’s rule Lukashenko’s claim could not be independently verified but Russian media have reported Prigozhin was recently seen at his offices in Russia’s second-largest city Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Friday again shrugged off questions about Prigozhin’s whereabouts and refused to comment on whether his presence in Russia would violate the deal The Belarusian president dismissed suggestions that the mercenaries could attack Ukraine from Belarusian territory which Russian troops used as a staging ground ahead of their invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 The Wagner fighters faced little resistance and downed at least six military helicopters and a command post aircraft the Wagner chief ordered his troops to return to their camps The abortive rebellion represented the biggest threat to Putin in his more than two decades in power exposing his weakness and eroding the Kremlin’s authority Minsk said Friday that members of the Russian mercenary force Wagner were acting as military instructors for Belarusian territorial defense forces three weeks after the group's aborted mutiny in Russia units of territorial defense troops are undergoing training," the Belarusian defense ministry said. The ministry said the forces were learning skills including tactical shooting "Fighters of the Wagner private military company are acting as instructors in a number of military disciplines," the ministry said which played a key role in the Ukraine offensive sought to topple Russia's military leadership during its brief rebellion The whereabouts of its founder Yevgeny Prigozhin have remained largely unknown in the wake of an agreement with the Kremlin under which the Wagner leader was expected to move to neighboring Belarus The Belarusian Hayun investigative project said that Prigozhin might have spent the night this week near Asipovichy after an image arose purporting to show him at the camp In a video released by the Belarusian defense ministry, masked Wagner fighters were shown training local forces. "No doubt it is a very useful experience for our Belarusian army," a serviceman said during in an interview. "We have not taken part in combat since the end of the war in Afghanistan," he said, referring to the Soviet invasion of the country in 1979. "They can teach us a lot," another serviceman said. Targeted by sanctions from Washington and Brussels, Prigozhin had for years operated in the shadows but has catapulted into the limelight since Putin sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022. He was allowed to recruit fighters from prisons and released numerous profanity-laced diatribes, accusing the Russian military's top brass of incompetence on the battlefield. Today’s Paper Europe|How Russia Has Increased Its Military Buildup https://nyti.ms/3r4tCjnShare full articleAdvertisement By Michael Schwirtz Scott Reinhard and Josh HolderJan Russia has deployed tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus marking the first time its nuclear arsenal has been stationed outside Russian territory since the Cold War Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko confirmed that several dozen warheads have been moved into his country He also revealed that preparations are underway to host Moscow's advanced hypersonic ballistic missiles This deployment has significant strategic implications which borders Ukraine and several NATO countries now enables Russian forces to strike potential targets more efficiently The move extends Russia's nuclear reach deeper into Eastern and Central Europe 22 Munitions arsenals in the Belarusian town of Asipovichy and the village of Prudok are believed to house tactical nuclear weapons transferred from Russia two primary locations for these weapons have been identified: a military depot near Asipovichy in central Belarus and a potential storage site in Prudok These sites bring Russia's tactical nuclear capabilities significantly closer to NATO's eastern flank increasing the perceived threat to member states such as Poland located about 120 miles from Ukraine’s border including a triple-layered fence and new nuclear storage facilities highlights the strategic importance of these deployments Military analysts believe these measures are part of Russia's broader strategy to strengthen its nuclear deterrence against what it perceives as increasing Western aggression Russian President Vladimir Putin has confirmed the completion of "special storage" facilities in Belarus reinforcing Moscow's nuclear posture amid heightened tensions with NATO updates to Russia's nuclear doctrine now permit a nuclear response to conventional attacks by nations supported by nuclear-armed allies decision to provide Ukraine with long-range missiles capable of striking deeper into Russian-held territory The conflict has also seen reports of North Korean troops allegedly assisting Russia further complicating the geopolitical landscape while less destructive than intercontinental ballistic missiles are intended for battlefield use rather than large-scale devastation Russia has not disclosed the number of weapons stationed in Belarus but Lukashenko emphasized the secrecy of their arrival claiming Western intelligence "didn’t even notice" the deployment joint military drills between Russian and Belarusian forces featured Iskander short-range ballistic missiles and nuclear-capable aircraft with its Cold War-era infrastructure for hosting Soviet nuclear weapons remains a critical component of Russia's strategic military operations Satellite images purporting to show the construction of a camp for exiled Wagner mercenaries after their failed revolt were shared online late Tuesday by independent Belarusian media According to the Telegram channel Belarus Golovnovo Mozga satellite images dated June 27 show what appears to be construction underway at a military compound near the town of Asipovichy The channel also cited local residents, who claimed they had witnessed “strange activity” involving a “large number” of construction workers near the compound. “Information in documents indicates that about 1,780 four-bed bunks and 400 two-seat toilets are required by tomorrow,” an unnamed forestry worker was quoted as saying without providing details about the documents It was not possible to independently verify the report On Monday, the independent Russian news outlet Vyorstka — citing local authorities and relatives of Wagner fighters — reported that Belarus had started building camps for Wagner mercenaries. the camps are expected to accommodate 8,000 fighters Meanwhile, Belarusian lawmakers on Wednesday ratified an agreement on joint Russian-Belarusian “combat training centers” at existing military compounds The news follows Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko’s confirmation Tuesday that Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin had arrived in Belarus as part of a deal to stop Wagner’s rebellion over the weekend. “I could use such a unit in the army,” Lukashenko said instructing his defense minister to discuss Wagner’s possible deployment in Belarus Prigozhin on Monday said Lukashenko had offered Wagner mercenaries to “work in a lawful jurisdiction.” Russian President Vladimir Putin gave Wagner fighters the choice of signing contracts with the Russian army or leaving for Belarus following their armed revolt over the weekend Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent." These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help please support us monthly starting from just $2 and every contribution makes a significant impact independent journalism in the face of repression