The Belarusian landscape is undergoing a transformation, with a sprawling construction site emerging in the Slutsk district, 60 kilometers south of Minsk.
Satellite images from Planet Labs reveal extensive construction activity on a site that was partially an empty field in May 2024. The site's history and current developments suggest it could potentially house Russian strategic missiles, raising concerns among international observers.
According to American Military News, the Belarusian authorities have remained tight-lipped about the project, which is situated on a site that once hosted nuclear-capable missiles during the Soviet era. The site is currently under investigation by RFE/RLs Belarus Service, Schemes (the investigative unit of RFE/RLs Ukrainian Service), and Estonian media outlets Delfi Estonia and Eesti Ekspress.
Despite the significant changes on the site, there are no references in official public documents, no coverage in local media, and no updates of cadastral maps indicating land allocation for such a site.
The Belarusian government, under the authoritarian leadership of Aleksandr Lukashenko, has not made any official announcements about the project. Efforts to reach the Defense Ministry for comments have been unsuccessful.
This secrecy coincides with Russia's escalating military cooperation with Belarus, its ally, amid the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. This war has significantly heightened tensions between Russia, NATO, and the West.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has previously bragged about the development of a new hypersonic, intermediate-range ballistic missile called the Oreshnik, which Moscow claims was tested in an attack on Ukraine last November. Putin announced in December that Oreshnik systems would be deployed in Belarus simultaneously with their introduction into the Russian Strategic Missile Forces (RVSN), possibly in the second half of this year.
Satellite images from August 31 reveal four distinct sections at the site near the village of Paulauka, covering more than 2 square kilometers, equivalent to about 280 soccer fields, all interconnected by new roads.
The images from August 13 show numerous structures in the largest section, including what appear to be 13 ammunition depots surrounded by protective walls and three larger sheds or hangars, each about 100 meters long, as well as foundations for several other buildings.
While construction is ongoing, experts find it challenging to determine the exact nature of the military facility that will emerge. Konrad Muzyka, director of the security analysis firm Rochan Consulting, suggests that the layout of the site indicates a strategic purpose.
"The image that captures all the facilities that are currently being created, all of them are linked by a road. And its very clear that there is an essential linkage between all of these facilities, Muzyka said.
He further speculated that the bases are linked to some sort of strategic level equipment that can be deployed to Belarus, possibly the Oreshnik or something else of strategic significance.
Muzyka also suggested that the facility might house nuclear-armed equipment or have a nuclear component attached to it, given the site's history of housing such equipment during the Cold War.
The northern section of the site, once farmland, now shows eight hangar-like frames, while a nearly 150-meter-long building was being constructed in the eastern parcel, with earth mounds piled nearby. In the southeastern section, several roads appeared to be taking shape.
This parcel sits on the highest hill in the Slutsk district, known as Signal Hill, which some observers suggest could make it suitable for air defense systems.
Marko Eklund, a retired Finnish major and military intelligence officer who spent more than 20 years analyzing the Russian military and now works with satellite imagery, told Eesti Ekspress that the site resembles a strategic missile base. Strategic missile bases are the same. I cant say what else it could be, Eklund said.
Here the new one has one big and three small. There are some kind of warehouses in the central area and then there are bunkers. If there was to be an Oreshnik base, they could fit the bill.
The question of who is funding the project remains unanswered, but Muzyka believes that both Minsk and Moscow will consider it "to be a strategic level asset."
Belarus, Russia's only real military ally, has supported the invasion of Ukraine in several ways, including allowing Russia to use its territory as a launching pad for the full-scale invasion in 2022, but has not sent its own troops.
1Last month, the Belarusian defense chief announced that annual joint exercises due to start on September 12 will include drills on the planned use of nuclear weapons and the Oreshnik, which Russia says is nuclear-capable.
The project site was part of the Soviet nuclear arsenal in the past. From 1959 until 1993, the area hosted the garrison of the Slutsk-based 306th Strategic Missile Regiment. In 1960, it became home to the 1057th repair and technical base, responsible for nuclear-technical support of the regiment.
Belarus joined the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in 1993, becoming the first country to voluntarily give up the nuclear arsenal it inherited in the 1991 collapse of the USSR. That same year, the 306th regiment was withdrawn from combat duty and redeployed to Russia, where it was later disbanded.
In September 1996, the site still hosted an artillery munitions depot, but it subsequently fell into disuse. Parts of the former base remained littered with abandoned fortifications, missile silos, bunkers, and sheds.
The redevelopment began in the spring of 2024, with military sappers clearing the area of unexploded ordnance, destroying 2,800 munitions across 2.5 square kilometers by June 7, according to local authorities. Clearing and earthworks then began, and the pace of construction accelerated this year.
The ongoing construction and the secrecy surrounding it raise questions about the future of the site and its potential impact on regional security. The site's history, coupled with Russia's escalating military cooperation with Belarus, suggests that the facility could house strategic missiles, further escalating tensions in the region.
The international community will undoubtedly keep a close eye on developments at the site, as they could have far-reaching implications for regional and global security.
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