New evidence suggests that a site near a town in central Belarus could be the location of a secret Russian nuclear weapons hub.
According to a report by the Radio Free Europe (RFE/RL) news network, nuclear safety precautions are currently in effect at the 1,405th ammunition base near Asipovichy, around 100 km southeast of the capital, Minsk.
It also said there was evidence of building work at the site and another nearby military base, which has been previously identified as a potential location for nuclear warheads.
In December, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko claimed his country was hosting dozens of Russian nuclear weapons, boasting that western countries hadn’t “noticed when we brought them here.”
An article on RFE/RL’s website said that there is growing evidence that bases around Asipovichy may be the site for these arms—if they have indeed been sent to Belarus—or that they are being prepared for their arrival.
The broadcaster reported that a photo published online last September shows a digital radiation monitor affixed to a wall at the 1,405th ammunition base, despite it being over 100 km away from the nearest nuclear power station.
It also wrote that documents related to a new train line mention a facility for storing chemicals for iodine prophylaxis, a preventative medical measure undertaken in the event of a nuclear accident.
Work on building the railway, it reported, started last year and the line is poised to connect the ammunition base to another military site, the nearby Asipovichy military base, located around 12 km away.
RFE/RL’s analysis of satellite images suggests that this military base is being built up, with new constructions including possible hangars for Iskander missiles, which can carry conventional or nuclear weapons.
At the ammunition base, meanwhile, platforms that can house anti-aircraft defenses are being built, the report said.
Last November, Russia formally changed its nuclear doctrine, lowering the bar for the use of nuclear weapons in light of the ongoing conflict with Ukraine.
However, analysis from the U.S.-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said the recent developments reported by RFE/RL did not mean that Russia was likely to use nuclear weapons at this point.
“Belarus may be developing military infrastructure to house Russian nuclear warheads,” it wrote, but “ISW continues to assess that neither Russia nor Belarus seeks nuclear escalation and that their use of nuclear weapons remains unlikely.”
