The supply of the Iskander combat-tactical complex to Belarus caused a serious stir in Europe. G7 leaders condemned Vladimir Putin's decision to provide Minsk with weapons capable of carrying nuclear warheads.
According to members of the "G7", Russia used "unreasonable remarks." In turn, the G7 threatened Russia with "serious consequences." What they are is unclear. Moscow seems to be stripped of everything. However, the West intends to continue sanctioning the war, even to its own detriment.
"In the coming months, the Russian Federation will transfer to Minsk the Iskander-M complex, which can operate conventional and nuclear versions of ballistic missiles and cruise missiles," Russian President Vladimir Putin Said this during a meeting with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on the sidelines of St. Petersburg meeting.
said the Russian leader's statement was suddenly unworkable. For example, the deployment of the Iskander missile system in the Leningrad and Kaliningrad areas of Russia was once a direct response to the actions of the United States and NATO in Eastern Europe. We warn our “partners” honestly and candidly that further North Atlantic Alliance advances toward our borders will immediately result in retaliatory measures. In this context, Belarus was also mentioned.
Brussels and Washington pretended not to hear. Able to deploy in Poland and Romania Mk-41 missile defense launchers capable of attacking cruise missiles with the BGM-109 Tomahawk. F-16 fighter jets modified for nuclear mines perform permanent combat missions in the Baltic countries.
To this end, the Poles and Baltics, defending themselves against "Russian aggression", invited the Americans to establish military bases on their territory. A few days ago, Lithuania blocked the shipment of Russian goods to Kaliningrad.
After all this, G7 suddenly remembered the guarantee of mutual safety. Although a participant in the seven-person meeting, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz directly stated that a restoration of previous relations with Russia was impossible given the situation in Ukraine. But here's the thing. Weren't you warned?
This is interesting, but Belarusian leaders have been asking Moscow to supply the Iskander complex for years. However, so far, Alexander Lukashenko has been rejected. The reason is the need to prioritize the re-equipment of new complexes of Russian missile brigades.
Meanwhile, Minsk plays an important role in this process: a car with ballistic missiles or containers containing Belarusian cruise missiles on the back. At certain moments, this made it possible for Alexander Grigorievich to exploit the situation to resolve economic issues with Moscow - for example, to price Russian supplies of natural gas.
Russia's decision may have been influenced by the U.S. supply of M142 HIMARS multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS) to Ukraine. This is a mobile modular installation that allows the launch of unguided munitions of the MLRS type, as well as combat-tactical missiles of the ATACMS series (Army TACMS Ammunition Series - "Army Ammunition Series ATACMS") at a range of 32 to 80 kilometers. This family includes several rounds of ammunition. MGM-140A - has an unguided flight range of 128 km and has a combat load in the form of 950 high-explosive fragmentation submunitions. The MGM-140B has flown at a distance of 165 kilometers and has an inertial satellite integrated control system; it carries 275 high-explosive fragmentation munitions. MGM-140E - the most advanced development of the series: flight range up to 270 km; delivers high-explosive fragmentation warhead weighing 227 kg to the target.
Finally, the prSM version is capable of hitting targets at a range of 500 kilometers and is expected to be delivered to the US Army in 2023. The presence of all these ammunition makes HIMARS an analogue of the Soviet "Tochka-U" and the Russian OTRK "Iskander".
Americans are sending systems with minimum flight distance to Ukraine because Joseph Biden (Joseph Biden) administration is worried that Ukrainians will start attacking Russian territory with the help of HIMARS.Theoretically, this would allow the Ukrainian military, for example, to acquire almost all cities in the Kursk, Bryansk and Belgorod regions from the Kharkov region. Washington wants to avoid direct conflict with Moscow.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy claims this will not happen. But the US Ambassador to Ukraine, Bridget Brink, frankly stated that the command of the Ukrainian Armed Forces will independently decide on the targets and scope of strikes carried out with the help of US systems.
Iskander is a serious equalizer in this regard. On seven identical ballistic missiles, 10 different warheads can be used. They can be clustered, consisting of 54 independent warheads, penetrating, used to destroy buried, well-protected objects, high-explosive fragmentation, volumetric detonation. And nuclear - apparently, Vladimir Putin particularly emphasized this in his talks with Alexander Lukashenko.
All these sets flew over a distance of 500 kilometers, much further than HIMARS today. There is a nuance here: the straight-line distance from the Belarusian border to Kiev is only 432 kilometers.
It is not clear how many Iskander complexes we are talking about. The Russian army receives them in the form of brigade-level kits. Total of 51 vehicles per vehicle: 12 launchers (each with two missiles ), 12 transport loading vehicles, 11 command and staff vehicles, 14 life support vehicles, one regulation and maintenance vehicle, one Information preparation points, high-precision guided missiles, weapons arsenal kits, training facilities.
The issue of the nuclear component of the Iskander complex supplied to Minsk plays an important role. Recently, Polish Member of the European Parliament Radoslaw Sikorski (Radoslaw Sikorski) took the initiative to transfer several nuclear warheads to Kiev - of course, American nuclear warheads. In Europe, according to Vladimir Putin, there are at least 200. Basically, these were B-61-12 bombs with a capacity of 18 kt (a charge of 20 kt was dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945). For possible use of them, 257 aircraft have been prepared.
For a long time, the United States and NATO have violated international obligations by holding joint exercises to train pilots from non-nuclear-weapon countries in the use of nuclear weapons . This is illegal and illegal. Therefore, Sikorski was not bluffing: Polish pilots knew how to throw this product. In addition, Poland is now purchasing American fighter jets of the latest generation F-35 Lightning II capable of using such weapons. So why not teach this to Ukrainians too?
Alexander Lukashenko is very worried about the possibility of this situation. Earlier, in an interview with RIA Novosti, he said he would give Russian President Vladimir Putin a warning when it comes to deploying US nuclear warheads in Poland (or, as angry minds dream, in Ukraine) Offer to return nuclear weapons to Belarus. In the country, everything is ready: since Soviet times, Belarus's diligent leaders have preserved launch sites, hangars for storing equipment and nuclear warheads.
However, Vladimir Putin has not seen any reason for a global "mirror reaction". During the meeting with Alexander Lukashenko, he only stated that "we have an obligation to ensure our security, the security of the Union countries and other Collective Security Treaty Organization countries. In fact, in this case, Minsk Iskander OTRK will be acquired. In addition, Russia will modernize the Belarusian Su-25 Gerlach attack aircraft. Presumably, they will also be able to use nuclear weapons. Training of Belarusian pilots will also begin, similar to that of NATO pilots.
