RFE/RL Finds New Evidence Of Russia's Suspected Secret Nuclear Base In Belarus
A seemingly innocuous photo posted online in September 2024 is a small piece in a larger mosaic of evidence uncovered by RFE/RL’s Belarus Service of a secret Russian nuclear weapons base in the Eastern European country.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian authoritarian leader Aleksandr Lukashenko have spoken publicly about deploying Russian nuclear weapons to Belarus without revealing where the missiles might be stored.
Suspect Device
The photo, taken at the 1,405th ammunition base in central Belarus, might have disclosed one of the locations.
It shows unit commander Lieutenant Colonel Valery Kuzmin congratulating his men at a celebration.
On a wall behind him, a digital monitor shows the level of radiation measured at the base, despite it being located more than 100 kilometers from the nearest nuclear power station.
The device is listed in the product catalogue of Belarusian company Atomtex as an AT2327 signal indicator with information panel, which is used for monitoring “the radiation environment.”
Such devices are known to be used only by the 8th Radiation Safety, Chemical, and Biological Protection Brigade, as well as by military unit No. 7434, which protects the Astravetskaya nuclear power station in northwestern Belarus.
RFE/RL has also uncovered evidence of enhanced nuclear safety measures near the 1,405th base. Documents reveal a site storing chemicals for iodine prophylaxis -- a protective measure in the event of an accident at a nuclear facility.
This was mentioned in an annex to documentation on a new rail line linking the base to another facility -- the nearby Asipovichy military base -- which is also believed to be a potential site for storing Russian nuclear warheads.
Belarusian law requires iodine prophylaxis sites only at facilities within 100 kilometers of a nuclear power station or the Chernobyl exclusion zone. The 1,405th doesn’t fall in either category.
Asipovichy was first identified as a potential site for nuclear weapons by the Federation of American Scientists in 2023. The New York Times also wrote about it in May last year. The construction of the railway began at the end of the summer.
A satellite image taken by Planet Labs on February 24 shows a clearing has been made in the forest for laying the railroad, earthworks are under way, and the foundations of loading platforms inside the base have been laid.
Documentation relating to the project was provided to RFE/RL by Belpol, a group of former Belarusian security officials now working against the regime.
It includes details relating to the project, including the construction of guard rooms, and notes that the $10 million cost will be financed by the Defense Ministry.
Lukashenko announced the delivery of two Iskander units in February 2024. With a range of 500 kilometers, missiles fired from Asipovichy could hit most of Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Ukraine.
Each unit would require storage facilities for 24 vehicles, eight of which carry the missiles. In 2023, satellite images showed one such building completed, and the foundations laid for two more. Now, a new image from February shows all the buildings are completed.
Building Up Infrastructure
Other buildings are also visible in the new photo. These include apartment blocks and a sports stadium.
On March 14, local authorities reported that the keys to 72 apartments in one building were handed over to the military.
As reported, "representatives of all military units and units of the Asipovichy garrison will live in the building."
RFE/RL has another new satellite image, of the 1,405th ammunition base. It was also identified by The New York Times in May 2024 as a potential site for storing Russian nuclear warheads.
In December 2024, Lukashenko said they had arrived in Belarus. "I brought nuclear warheads here. Not just a dozen.... They didn't even notice how we brought them here."
The new satellite image from February also shows platforms being constructed at the base and by the railway. Documentation of the project, obtained by RFE/RL, mentions four such platforms.
"The construction of platforms that rise above the ground indicates that they will house antiaircraft defenses,” Polish-based Belarusian defense analyst Konrad Muzyka told RFE/RL.
“This, in turn, indicates that this is indeed a place of increased interest and that Belarus will do a lot to protect it from missile attacks," Muzyka said.
For Muzyka, this fits with the general buzz of construction activity at the site.
“The fact that the storage facility, which can store warheads for Iskanders, conventional warheads and, more importantly, nuclear warheads, is being upgraded is an important development," Muzyka added.
The growing body of evidence points to a likelihood that Asipovichy and the 1,405th ammunition base is the site where these weapons, if they really have been brought to Belarus, are kept -- or that the site is being prepared for their arrival.