Belarus may be secretly building a radioactive waste repository
Geological surveys in March 2026 in Mstsislaw district / БелРАО
Belarus may have begun construction of a radioactive waste repository at one of the previously considered sites. The outlet "Flagshtok" reported that construction work has begun.
The site in question is located in Mstsislaw district of Mahilyow region. According to the outlet, work has begun there on creating an excavation pit for radioactive waste.
Using the Sentinel satellite imagery service, journalists compared how the announced construction sites and their surroundings have changed over the past year. At the site in Khoyniki district, changes were minimal: the forest clearing looks like routine forestry activity. At the site in Astravyets district, there is also forest clearing and earthworks underway near a temporary sand storage area. The images do not allow conclusions to be drawn about the nature of the work.
The greatest number of changes were noted in Mstsislaw district. Work there began in September 2025 and is ongoing. A kilometre-long stream within the site was filled in. The area was completely cleared of vegetation and, apparently, of its topsoil across a 3.4 sq. km plot. In parts of the territory, depressions were partially levelled. Journalists note that these are unprecedented earthworks in terms of their scale of land surface levelling.
"It is impossible to explain such large-scale and costly earthworks covering an area of more than three square kilometres by agricultural needs or so-called bringing unused land into circulation," "Flagshtok" states. The outlet also draws attention to the fact that corresponding public procurement procedures in Mstsislaw district were not carried out.
"Flagshtok" emphasises that the work is being conducted in secret from Belarusian citizens and raises a number of questions:
Why was it necessary to begin work in secret from Belarusian citizens, bypassing established procedures?
Could a stable foundation not have been chosen from the outset?
Is such a foundation reliable over the course of hundreds of years?
How much does such work cost?
