Possible 'Oreshnik' Base Near Krychaw Heavily Guarded by Air Defense Systems

In a satellite image from Planet Labs, taken on February 17, 2026, 'Radio Svaboda' counted at least six equipped positions with military equipment within a five-kilometer radius around the former military airfield.

Some of this equipment, by its configuration and the shadows it casts, resembles Russian 'Tor-M2' anti-aircraft missile systems or the modern 'Pantsir' anti-aircraft missile-gun system, while others are electronic warfare systems like 'Krasukha' or 'Moskva-1'. However, the quality of the satellite image does not allow for a precise determination of the equipment type.

All the listed equipment is designed to protect important objects from aviation, drones, and missile strikes. Their task is to detect air targets, intercept them if necessary, and suppress enemy navigation and control systems.

Павялічыць

Satellite image of the area near the former 'Krychaw-6' military airfield with six locations of equipped positions with military equipment around it. Within the circle is a military town with the probable presence of 'Oreshnik' complex military vehicles. February 17, 2026.

Satellite images also show that the first air defense equipment began appearing at positions in the vicinity of the airfield near Krychaw in early November, when the first foundations for military base buildings were being laid on the runway. By mid-December — roughly when Alexander Lukashenka announced the 'entry into combat duty' in Belarus of the 'Oreshnik' missile system — there were already at least six such positions around the airfield.

As of February 17, 2026, one of the equipped positions with military equipment is located near the village of Zarubets, two – near the village of Hannaŭka, one – near the village of Paloshkava, one – near the village of Krasnaya Buda, and an equipped position with several vehicles, some of which may be radar stations, on the outskirts of the village of Novyya Damamierychy. Small trenches are dug around some of these locations, and small defensive earthen berms are piled around others.

Павялічыць

Equipped position with military equipment resembling a combat vehicle of the 'TOR-M2' anti-aircraft missile system, near the village of Paloshkava. Approximately three kilometers from the probable deployment base of 'Oreshnik'. Satellite image of February 9, 2026.

In the central part of the military town on the territory of the former military airfield, at the same location as recorded in previously analyzed images by 'Radio Svaboda' from February 9, there are 6 large vehicles. According to experts, they may belong to the 'Oreshnik' missile system. Their size and proportions correspond to the size of the equipment shown on December 30, 2025, by the Ministries of Defense of Russia and Belarus, which then allegedly 'entered combat duty'. An hangar continues to be built around this equipment.

The images also show an object whose configuration resembles an S-300 anti-aircraft missile system.

Павялічыць

Satellite image of the military town in the central part of the former 'Krychaw-6' military airfield, showing six vehicles that may belong to the 'Oreshnik' missile system, as well as a probable S-300 anti-aircraft missile system. February 17, 2026.

As Ukrainian aviation expert, deputy director of an electronic warfare device manufacturing company, Anatol Khrapchynsky, noted in a comment to 'Radio Svaboda', the analyzed images suggest that a multi-layered air defense system may be being created near the airfield near Krychaw. And according to the expert, it looks absolutely logical if a complex like 'Oreshnik' is deployed at this location.

“If Russia deploys an intercontinental ballistic missile or a complex like 'Oreshnik', it will in any case build an air defense system to cover this object, as it has strategic importance for it. And accordingly, an echeloned model of such defense: long-range systems, for example, of the S-300 class, can be covered by shorter-range systems like 'Pantsir' or 'Tor'. This, in principle, coincides with what we see from the configuration of shadows from the equipment and its placement on satellite images. This way, 'blind spots' are covered, and comprehensive protection of the object is ensured.”

The expert also notes that the nature of the security, as well as the large number of diverse equipment, indicate the great importance of the object for the authorities of Russia and Belarus:

“We are talking about a closed military town with an enormous level of defense – both ground and air. Such a level of coverage is usually afforded to truly important objects.”

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