Russian Tor missile system deployed at Mozyr oil refinery

Satellite images indicate that work on equipping a position for an air defense system on the plant's territory began in January 2025

An air defense system, resembling the Russian Tor surface-to-air missile system, appeared on the territory of the Mozyr Oil Refinery in early August 2025. This was discovered by "Skhemy" (Radio Svoboda) after analyzing Planet Labs satellite images and interviewing experts.

Satellite images from last year, examined by journalists, show that work on preparing a position for an air defense system on the plant's territory began in January 2025 — seven months before the anti-aircraft missile system itself appeared there.

At the same time, in January 2025, the monitoring project "Belarusian Gayun" reported on the appearance of other protective structures — firing points, trenches, and checkpoints — around the Mozyr Oil Refinery.

The air defense system, which a satellite recorded on the territory of the oil depot last summer, could be the Russian Tor anti-aircraft missile system, believes aviation expert Anatol Khraptsynski. According to him, this is indicated by the shape of the shadow from the installation, which is best seen in Planet Labs images from January 16, 2026.

"We see that the shadow of the object in the image resembles a tank (turret and chassis), and its length and width precisely correspond to the dimensions of a system like the 'Tor'. Most likely, it is a modern 'Tor-M2', which is built, among other things, on a chassis from the Belarusian 'Minsk Wheel Tractor Plant'," Khraptsynski said in a comment to "Skhemy".

In November 2022, the Telegram channel "Live. Community of Belarusian Railway Workers" reported that Russia had transferred at least 15 Tor-M2 air defense systems to Belarus.

"This is precisely the class of air defense optimized for low-altitude, small-sized targets, in particular, large attack drones, so its deployment is a logical element of preventive defense. It seems that Lukashenka is trying to minimize the risk of 'incidents', including possible sabotage, even from the Russian side, and this is definitely not about fighting their own partisans," Khraptsynski explained.

The aviation expert added that Alexander Lukashenka consistently tries to avoid direct participation in hostilities, and air defense is one way to stick to this course.

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