New satellite imagery appears to show vehicles potentially linked to Russia’s Oreshnik intermediate-range missile system at the former Krichev-6 military airfield in Belarus, amid signs of accelerated construction at the site.
The images, obtained by Radio Svaboda from Planet Labs and published on Tuesday, Feb. 10, show six vehicles inside a newly built fenced compound on a former runway. The outlet reported that the vehicles resemble support and launcher units previously shown in official footage released by the Russian and Belarusian defense ministries, though their exact type cannot be independently verified due to image resolution limits.
The imagery also indicates expanded infrastructure at the site, including new buildings, reconstructed rail lines, defensive earthworks and hangars under construction. Krichev-6 had previously been identified by US-based open-source analysts as a possible deployment location shortly before Belarus and Russia released footage on Dec. 30 claiming the system had entered combat duty.
Specialists cited by Radio Svaboda said the vehicles visible in the latest images could include launchers and technical support equipment associated with the Oreshnik system.
However, they cautioned that the site could also function as a decoy position, noting that the concentrations of vehicles are in open areas while hangars are still being built raises questions about operational readiness.
The Oreshnik system is a Russian mobile intermediate-range ballistic missile system reportedly derived from the Yars intercontinental ballistic missile. With fewer booster stages, it is smaller in size and has an estimated range of about 5,000 kilometers (3,100 miles). Russia first used a missile from the system in November 2024 in a strike on the Pivdenmash facility in Dnipro.
Russian forces have conducted experimental launches of the Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missile which was first operationally used against Ukraine in November 2024 when a launch from Kapustin Yar was directed at the city of Dnipro. Subsequent strikes attributed to Oreshnik launches from Kapustin Yar include a January 2026 strike on infrastructure near Lviv.
The site has also drawn Ukrainian drone attacks targeting its facilities because of its role in testing and launching the Oreshnik system’s missiles.