Latest news with #Zapad2025
Forbes
4 days ago
- Politics
- Forbes
Belarus Announces Joint Military Exercise With Russia In September
The Belarusian Ministry of Defense announced on Tuesday that the Belarusian military will conduct training exercises with the Russian Federation on September 12 through September 16. The ministry stated that the drills will be conducted to 'ensure the military security of [Belarus and Russia]Known as Zapad-2025, the four-day military exercise will simulate air defense and ground combat scenarios. Belarusian and Russian forces will also conduct drills on how to repel invading forces. Finally, they will undergo nuclear weapons training. These exercises will be held in Belarus. While the Belarusian Ministry of Defense claimed that only 13,000 Belarusian and Russian personnel will participate in Zapad-2025, independent assessments by the Latvian Ministry of Defense state that between 100,000 and 150,000 Belarusian and Russian soldiers will be involved in the drills. This has put NATO forces and Ukraine on high alert. When asked about the Zapad-2025 training exercise, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told Newsweek that Russia could be 'planning [something] this summer in Belarus.' He added that Russia's joint training exercise with Belarus could mark 'the beginning of a full-scale invasion, similar to the one we saw in 2022.' In response, Belarusian President Aliaksandr Lukashenka told TIME Magazine that the concerns about Zapad-2025 were 'utter nonsense.' He added that Belarus was 'not going to attack' Ukraine, Poland, or the Baltics states. Prior to Russia's full-scale invasion, Belarus conducted a joint exercise with the Russian Federation in Belarus from February 10 to February 20, 2022. Following the conclusion of the training drills, the Russian Federation launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022. During the start of the invasion, several Russian forces entered Ukraine from Belarusian territory. The Russians also launched airstrikes from Belarus into Ukraine. Lukashenka has previously stated that he would allow Russian President Vladimir Putin to use Belarus as a 'staging area for Russian troops.' The Russian Federation also transported weapons and military equipment through Belarus into Ukraine to supply Russian soldiers. At one point, Russian soldiers also stayed in barracks in Belarus as they invaded parts of northern Ukraine. Russia's attacks on Ukraine through Belarus, however, were unsuccessful. Following the initial stages of the war, the Ukrainian Armed Forces and volunteer battalions launched a counteroffensive throughout the country. By the summer of 2022, the Ukrainians successfully defended Kyiv, and they liberated all of central and northern Ukraine. This forced the Russians to abandon their attacks in northern Ukraine through Belarus. Instead, the Russians began to focus their efforts more heavily on southern and eastern Ukraine. Since then, Russia has had significant losses. According to the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, and reports independently verified by the Ministry of Defense of the United Kingdom, the Russian Federation has sustained over one million casualties. Additionally, the Russians have lost tens of billions of dollars in military equipment and hardware. Due to these losses, Putin has turned to Lukashenka for assistance so that he can overcome Ukraine's defense forces. Throughout the duration of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Putin has been trying to pressure Lukashenka into sending Belarusian soldiers into Ukraine. While the Belarusian president has allowed Putin to deploy Russian soldiers on Belarusian territory, and transport Russian equipment from Belarus into Ukraine, Lukashenka has stopped short of sending soldiers. The Belarusian president believes that sending Belarusian soldiers would make the situation worse. While Lukashenka has not sent soldiers into Ukraine, several Belarusian servicemembers have still protested their country's involvement in the war. For example, dozens of Belarusian military officials have resigned from the Belarusian military. Others have left the Belarusian armed forces to join volunteer battalions that are helping Ukrainian forces defend their homeland. Finally, public opinion polls conducted in Belarus have found that most Belarusian citizens do not support the Russian invasion of Ukraine. As a result, Lukashenka has opted not to send soldiers into Ukraine. Nonetheless, it is unclear how the Zapad-2025 training exercises will unfold. To date, Lukashenka has held off Putin from forcing Belarusian troops into Ukraine. But as the Russian president becomes more desperate to achieve a victory in Ukraine, it is unknown if Lukashenka will be able to hold off Putin forever. In other words, there is a sense of uncertainty surrounding the upcoming Zapad-2025 training exercise. Regardless of what might happen, NATO and Ukrainian officials will continue to monitor the situation as they prepare for the necessary precautions of a potential attack.
Daily Mail
5 days ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Russia and Belarus set to practice joint nuclear drills
Russia and its ally Belarus are set to stage nuclear missile drills close to Europe next month, with an estimated 150,000 troops expected to take part. Belarus said Wednesday it will practice deployment of Russia 's nuclear-capable Oreshnik missiles during the joint Zapad-2025 ('West-2025') drills close to the EU and NATO 's eastern flank border. The former Soviet republic is a key Russian ally and depends on the large eastern neighbour economically and militarily. It also allowed its territory to be used as a staging post for Moscow 's 2022 offensive in Ukraine. Kyiv , as well as Poland and the Baltic states, have repeatedly sounded alarm over military build-ups in Belarus, where Russia said it would deploy Oreshnik by the end of the year. 'Of course, we will work out the plan for using this type of weaponry together with our Russian colleagues,' Belarusian Defence Minister Viktor Khrenin said when asked if the Zapad drills would include the use of Oreshnik. While the minister confirmed that over 13,000 participants will take part, NATO says the drills could involve as many as 150,000 troops. In late 2024, Russia used the Ukrainian city of Dnipro as a testing ground for its 'experimental' Oreshnik missile without a nuclear warhead. 'We see the situation on our western and northern borders and can't just sit and watch the militarisation and military activity there,' Khrenin was quoted as saying by Belta news agency. Russian state media earlier reported around 13,000 soldiers were originally set to take part in the drills, but the final number of participants was not revealed yet. Meanwhile, two Russian units have reportedly already arrived in Belarus for the war games, while some Belarusian troops are understood to have already moved to Russia for the drills. The Zapad-2025 military drills, due on September 12-16, usually involve tens of thousands of troops in a show of force close to Belarus's western border with EU and NATO members. Around 200,000 troops participated in the 2021 edition of Zapad, staged just months before Moscow's assault of Ukraine. Belarus, Russia's closest ally, has seen its relations with western neighbours and Ukraine deteriorate over the last few years. It comes after Ukrainian and European leaders pursued last-ditch efforts on Wednesday to persuade U.S. President Donald Trump not to strike a Ukraine peace deal with Russia's Vladimir Putin, which they fear could sell out Kyiv's interests. Trump and Putin are due to meet in Alaska on Friday for talks on how to end the three-and-a-half-year-old conflict, the biggest in Europe since World War Two. Trump has said both sides will have to swap territory to end the fighting, which has cost tens of thousands of lives. In a day of intense diplomacy, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky flew into Berlin for German-hosted virtual meetings with European leaders and Trump. The Europeans are worried that a land swap could leave Russia with almost a fifth of Ukraine and embolden Putin to expand further west in the future. Since announcing the Alaska summit, Trump has played down expectations for the talks, saying it would be a 'feel-out' meeting as he seeks to end Moscow's war on Ukraine. In a first video conference on Wednesday, Zelensky and his host, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, met the leaders of Finland, France, Britain, Italy, Poland and the European Union as well as NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte to discuss their pitch to Trump and try and shape the outcome of Friday's summit.
Daily Mail
5 days ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Russia and Belarus to practice joint nuclear drills during tests with ‘up to 150,000 troops' in Europe next month
Russia and its ally Belraus are set to stage nuclear missile drills close to Europe next month. Belarus said Wednesday it will practice deployment of Russia 's nuclear-capable Oreshnik missiles during the joint Zapad-2025 ('West-2025') drills close to the EU and NATO 's eastern flank border. The former Soviet republic is a key Russian ally and depends on the large eastern neighbour economically and militarily. It also allowed its territory to be used as a staging post for Moscow 's 2022 offensive in Ukraine. Kyiv, as well as Poland and the Baltic states, have repeatedly sounded alarm over military build-ups in Belarus, where Russia said it would deploy Oreshnik by the end of the year. 'Of course, we will work out the plan for using this type of weaponry together with our Russian colleagues,' Belarusian Defence Minister Viktor Khrenin said when asked if the Zapad drills would include the use of Oreshnik. In late 2024, Russia used the Ukrainian city of Dnipro as a testing ground for its 'experimental' Oreshnik missile without a nuclear warhead. 'We see the situation on our western and northern borders and can't just sit and watch the militarisation and military activity there,' Khrenin was quoted as saying by Belta news agency. The former Soviet republic is a key Russian ally and depends on the large eastern neighbour economically and militarily. Pictured: Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko visit the Smolensky Skete of the Savior Transfiguration Monastery on Valaam Island in Lake Ladoga, Republic of Karelia, Russia, 01 August 2025 Russian state media earlier reported around 13,000 soldiers were originally set to take part in the drills, but the final number of participants was not revealed yet. Meanwhile, two Russian units have reportedly already arrived in Belarus for the war games, while some Belarusian troops are understood to have already moved to Russia for the drills. The Zapad-2025 military drills, due on September 12-16, usually involve tens of thousands of troops in a show of force close to Belarus's western border with EU and NATO members. Around 200,000 troops participated in the 2021 edition of Zapad, staged just months before Moscow's assault of Ukraine.
Russia Today
04-06-2025
- 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.
The Star
16-05-2025
- Politics
- The Star
Lukashenko: Belarus-Russia military drills not to attack anyone
MINSK, May 16 (Xinhua) -- The upcoming Belarus-Russia military drills Zapad 2025 have no plans to attack anyone, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said on Friday during his meeting with Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov in Minsk. Lukashenko said his country is ready for the exercise and not hiding anything from anyone, noting that this exercise is military drills and defensive in nature. Belarus is ready to accept Russian troops and conduct the exercises of joint group of forces of the Union State of Belarus and Russia, Lukashenko said. The Belarusian leader stressed his army will comply with the advanced methods of modern war and resistance, taking into account the experience of the special military operation and new principles. Lukashenko also thanked the Russian defense minister for the training of Belarusian military specialists in everything that Russians learn. In his turn, Belousov stressed that Russia and Belarus are not just allies, but have a common defense space, which they are strengthening due to an acute international situation and which they must strengthen as quickly as possible. The joint Belarus-Russia exercise Zapad 2025 is scheduled to take place in mid-September simultaneously in the two countries.
