Latest news with #Khrenin
Russia Today
6 days ago
- Business
- Russia Today
EU state's PM refutes Zelensky's latest ‘Russian threat' claim
There is no indication that the upcoming Russian-Belarusian military exercises pose a threat, Lithuanian Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas has said, rejecting concerns raised by Ukraine's Vladimir Zelensky. Speaking in Vilnius on Tuesday, Paluckas responded to comments made by Zelensky at the NATO Eastern Flank Summit, also in the Lithuanian capital, where he urged European leaders to ask their intelligence agencies 'what Russia is planning in Belarus this summer' and suggested that Kiev and its backers might require additional joint forces. 'I don't know what information the Ukrainian intelligence service or the Ukrainian president have at their disposal,' Paluckas told reporters. 'As regards the Zapad exercise, information is being gathered not only by our intelligence agencies, but also by NATO's intelligence agencies, and all the conclusions are the same: the exercise, which is currently being organized, does not pose any problems or additional threats in terms of its scope and other aspects,' he stressed. 'There's no need to be alarmed,' he added. The Lithuanian prime minister noted that Ukraine isn't the only country collecting information about the upcoming Zapad-2025 exercises and that NATO is also monitoring the situation. 'NATO does not view these drills as dangerous,' Paluckas stressed Last week, Belarusian Defense Minister Viktor Khrenin announced that the Zapad-2025 exercises, scheduled for September, would be reduced in scale and moved further inland, away from the country's western borders. The relocation is intended to reduce regional tension, demonstrate Minsk's readiness for dialogue, and to counter what he called 'stereotypical speculations' by NATO member states, he stated. Both Moscow and Minsk have stressed that the exercise is defensive in nature. Zelensky's suggestion that the upcoming exercises pose some sort of threat to the West comes as a number of European nations have recently taken to drastically increasing their military budgets citing the supposed threat posed by Russia. Moscow, however, has repeatedly dismissed claims it plans to attack Western Europe as 'nonsense,' accusing the West of using scare tactics to justify shifting public funds toward military spending.
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Belarus to scale down Zapad military drills to 'reduce tensions,' Minsk claims
Belarus will reduce the parameters of the upcoming Zapad-2025 military drills and move maneuvers further inland from the western border to reduce tensions in the region, Belarusian Defense Minister Viktor Khrenin claimed on May 28. Zapad drills are large-scale joint military exercises regularly held by Russian and Belarusian forces. Minsk confirmed earlier this year that the 2025 drills will take place in mid-September, involving 13,000 soldiers. "We have made a decision to reduce the parameters of the Joint Strategic Exercise 'Zapad-2025' and move its main maneuvers deep into the territory of the Republic of Belarus from the western borders," Khrenin said, according to the Belarusian Defense Ministry's Telegram channel. Khrenin made the announcement during a meeting of Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) ministers in Bishkek. The exercises have raised alarm in Kyiv and NATO, as they will take place amid Russia's ongoing full-scale invasion of Ukraine and Moscow's increasingly aggressive posture toward Western allies. President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that Russia plans to deploy 15 divisions, totaling 100,000 to 150,000 troops, primarily in Belarus, possibly in preparation for a major military escalation. Responding to the Russian-Belarusian drills, Poland has announced it would hold simultaneous and proportional exercises involving NATO partners. Khrenin claimed that Zapad drills are "not aimed against anyone," stressing that Minsk's decision "indicates a readiness for dialogue and a reduction in tensions in the region." Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko has been a key ally to Russia during its full-scale war against Ukraine. While not deploying its soldiers for combat, Belarus has provided its territory as a launching ground for Russian ground forces and missiles in 2022. Read also: Ukraine allegedly launches almost 300 drones at Russia; UAV facility near Moscow reportedly targeted We've been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
