Belarus weighs nuclear upgrade for Polonez missile system

The possibility of equipping the Polonez multiple launch rocket system with nuclear warheads is currently under consideration, State Secretary of the Security Council Alexander Volfovich told journalists following a meeting on missile production.

Volfovich explained that the Polonez missile system, originally developed jointly with the People's Republic of China, has since been successfully upgraded at Belarusian enterprises, Caliber.Az reports, citing Belarusian media.

"Today, it is a state-of-the-art system. The missile's range was 200 km; today it is 300 km. It is a high-precision weapon. Of course, any weapon requires adjustments and modifications. Questions are already being raised about equipping these missiles with nuclear warheads. And how to integrate Oreshnik's technologies, perhaps into some joint missiles. How to jointly adjust and work in this direction with the Russian side, creating a modern missile," Volfovich said.

He stressed that this development does not represent a threat to anyone. "We see how our neighbours, Western countries, and Americans are creating similar complexes with a range of 600 kilometres or more. Of course, we need to keep up and move in this direction," he noted.

The official also highlighted that Belarus essentially started its missile program from scratch.

"There has never been any missile production in Belarus; we have not been involved in this. We are a peaceful country—we produce tractors, BELAZ trucks, MAZ trucks, buses... But life pushes us to the point where every state must think about defence issues. Therefore, the decision was made to start creating our own missiles," Volfovich added.

By Tamilla Hasanova