Belarus integrated into Russian war industry, 500 enterprises support invasion, investigation finds
More than 500 Belarusian industrial enterprises now manufacture weapons and ammunition, repair military equipment, and provide logistics for Russia's war in Ukraine, according to an investigation by the opposition group BELPOL. Ukraine's Presidential Commissioner for Sanctions Policy, Vladyslav Vlasiuk, said fragments of a Russian Oreshnik missile that struck Bila Tserkva on 24 May contained five Belarusian-made components. BELPOL head Uladzimir Zhyhar said Belarus is helping Russia in every way it can, though it has not contributed combat troops.
More than 500 Belarusian industrial enterprises now manufacture weapons and ammunition, repair military equipment, and provide logistics for Russia's war in Ukraine, according to an investigation by the opposition group BELPOL.
BELPOL, an opposition organization of former Belarusian military and law enforcement officers, documented the scale of industrial integration. BELPOL head Uladzimir Zhyhar said: "Lukashenka's regime is quite seriously involved in the war. Lukashenka is helping Russia in every way he can."
Ukraine's Presidential Commissioner for Sanctions Policy, Vladyslav Vlasiuk, said fragments of the Russian Oreshnik medium-range ballistic missile that hit Bila Tserkva on 24 May contained five Belarusian-made components. The missile carried six submunitions, giving Ukrainian specialists their clearest look yet at the system's internal architecture. Vlasiuk said the recovered circuit boards contained Russian and Belarusian components, reportedly produced at the Integral plant in Minsk. He showed the materials to European ambassadors at a 28 May meeting, urging Western allies to tighten controls on Belarusian access to foreign electronics.
Belarus has not contributed combat troops, but integration has affected ammunition, equipment repair, training infrastructure, hospital care for wounded Russian soldiers, missile component manufacture, and the basing of Russian nuclear-capable systems. The Belarusian regime has offered its hospitals to treat wounded Russian soldiers and has hosted joint exercises with Moscow's forces.
Zhyhar described ongoing construction of a large training range and barracks complex in Gomel Oblast, the Belarusian region directly bordering Ukraine. Ukraine has been forced to maintain significant forces along the Belarusian frontier rather than committing them to the more than 1,000-kilometer line of contact with Russian forces, Zhyhar said.
Belarus borders three NATO members: Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland. The country has hosted the medium-range Oreshnik missile system, capable of carrying nuclear warheads.