Russia and Belarus announce nuclear, Oreshnik Missile drills just two days before Trump-Putin meeting to discuss Ukraine war
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The Zapad-2025 military drills
Belarusian Defense Minister Viktor Khrenin announced on August 13 that Belarus and Russia will practice nuclear deployment planning and the Oreshnik missile system during the upcoming Zapad-2025 military drills, according to state news agency Belta. The announcement came just two days before US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are set to meet in Alaska on August 15 to discuss the war in Ukraine.Donald Trump has threatened that Vladimir Putin will face 'very severe consequences' if he does not agree to a cease fire in the war in Ukraine at his summit with Donald Trump in Alaska.After a call with Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other European leaders, including Britain's Keir Starmer, Trump suggested that if his meeting with Putin goes well, he would push for a second summit, this time including his Ukrainian counterpart.This highly anticipated Trump-Putin meeting is intended to explore solutions to end the Ukraine war, following three previous rounds of talks earlier this summer at Trump's request.However, with the Zapad military drills announcements from one of Russia's closest allies, Kyiv's hope for an outcome from the Trump-Putin meeting might suffer a mild setback.'The head of state demands that we must be ready for all possible scenarios,' Khrenin said after a closed-door meeting with Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko, as quoted by the Kyiv Independent.The Zapad-2025 drills, scheduled for mid-September, are among the largest exercises held by the two countries. Belarus has confirmed that over 13,000 troops will participate.In an interview with Radio NV, Major General Andis Dilans, the Deputy State Secretary of the Latvian Ministry of Defense for Logistics and National Director for Armaments, stated that between 100,000 and 150,000 military personnel are expected to take part.On April 9, Ukraine's Commander-in-Chief, Oleksandr Syrsky, suggested that the upcoming Zapad-2025 exercises in Belarus, involving Russian troops, could signal preparation for a new offensive against Ukraine.Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Vladimir Putin would try to do everything to drag Belarus into a war against Ukraine.Belarus has previously hosted Russian tactical nuclear weapons , following a May 2023 agreement.Russian military capabilities, including the Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missile, will also be included in the exercises. Russia first unveiled the experimental weapon after using it in a strike on the Ukrainian city of Dnipro in November 2024, though confirmed use remains limited.Ukrainian intelligence asserts that Belarus fields only delivery systems, not nuclear warheads, and doubts that the Oreshnik system will be fully operational in Belarus by the end of the year.
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