In an interview following his year-end report to President Alexander Lukashenko, Ivan Tertel, chairman of the Belarusian State Security Committee (KGB), dismissed Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky’s recent assertion that Kyiv possesses intelligence on Russia’s Oreshnik hypersonic missiles deployed in Belarus.

Zelensky stated during a visit to Poland last week that Ukrainian special services “have an understanding where the deployment will take place,” claiming they are sharing intelligence with foreign partners to “assess this threat and deliberate their reactions.” Tertel condemned such statements as reckless and misleading, noting that “the interest of foreign intelligence in the Oreshnik system is predictable” and that “statements by certain political actors” in neighboring states often lead to unnecessary escalation.

The Belarusian intelligence chief also highlighted a growing concern over what he termed “transit terrorism,” referring to Ukrainian sabotage operations inside Russia. Tertel warned: “We realize that, should the situation change, those tactics can be used on Belarusian soil.” He further noted that foreign intelligence services have escalated their activities in Belarus through recruitment tactics involving coercion or financial incentives, with his agency exposing approximately 70 agents this year.

The Oreshnik is an intermediate-range hypersonic missile system that Russia unveiled last year following a strike on a Ukrainian arms factory. Some units of these nuclear-capable weapons are stationed in Belarus as part of the bilateral defense agreement between Russia and Belarus.