US observes Belarus-Russia war games as NATO allies feel the heat of Moscow’s incursions
By Frederik Pleitgen, CNN
Borisovsky Military Training area, Belarus (CNN) — As US’s NATO allies in Europe are feeling the pressure from Moscow, putting them on edge in an already-febrile atmosphere with Russian drones entering Poland’s airspace, Russia and its main ally Belarus are conducting massive military drills right on the alliance’s doorstep.
The exercises, called Zapad-2025, are taking place at training grounds in Russia and Belarus, which both border Ukraine, as well as in the waters of the Baltic and Barents Seas.
A delegation of US military officers, as well as representatives of two other NATO members, Turkey and Hungary, observed the drills, joined by Russian Deputy Defense Minister Yunus-Bek Yevkurov.
Air Force Lt. Col. Bryan Shoupe was one of two US officers who were seen meeting with Belarusian military officials in video shared by Minsk. In the video Shoupe could be heard thanking the Belarusian officials in Russian for the invitation.
US President Donald Trump, who initially responded to the Russian drone incursions into Poland with bemusement, saying “What’s with Russia violating Poland’s airspace with drones?” suggested last week that they could have been a mistake.
In another indication of developing ties between Minsk and Washington, Belarus released 52 political prisoners after senior Trump administration official John Coale met with Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko and delivered a letter and a gift of cufflinks featuring an image of the White House from Trump and first lady Melania Trump.
In response to the prisoner release, a Trump administration official said the US would ease some sanctions on Belarus’ state-run airline, Belavia.
Just days after more than a dozen Russian drones penetrated Poland’s airspace, causing NATO jets to scramble and shoot them down, Romania said another drone crossed its borders at the weekend.
While the US’ European allies have called for a stronger response from Washington to the drone incursions, Trump appears reluctant to further confront the Kremlin. In a Fox interview Friday, Trump said his patience with Putin was “sort of running out and running out fast.”
As the drills began at a massive compound north of Minsk, Belarusian Defense Ministry claimed that NATO was panicking in the face of Russian and Belarusian firepower.
“It’s a big mistake from NATO,” Valery Revenko, a senior Belarusian general, told CNN on the training ground, pointing to the fact that Poland itself has stationed a large number of troops near the border with Belarus for the duration of the drills.
“Where do you think there is more personnel? Probably over there. Why are 40,000 (the reported number of Polish soldiers deployed to the region) afraid of 6,800 (Russian and Belarusian troops)? This is a good question.”
‘Modern combat tactics’
The Belarusian military loaded us onto buses and took us deep inside the Borisovsky training facility. Drills started with a massive bang when several Russian fighter jets came streaking in at a low level, dropping bombs on mock targets. The two armies then blasted the training area called a “polygon,” ending with a final massive assault.
Moscow has used these exercises to showcase its modernized nuclear capabilities. While the Russians claim fewer than 13,000 troops are taking part in this year’s drills – much fewer than in the past – it’s the types of weapons used that has European leaders worried. For months the Russians have been outfitting Belarus with tactical nuclear weapons, recently announcing they’d placed their powerful new Oreshnik medium-range ballistic missiles there. This comes after Russia said it had placed tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus late last year.
Russian warships were shown firing Zircon hypersonic missiles in the Barents Sea to the north of Russia, while Moscow’s jets flew missions over North Western Russia and Belarus carrying Khinzhal air-launched ballistic missiles, which the Russians have already used in combat against Ukraine.
“We managed to systematically plan the issues of using weapons of more powerful destruction in this exercise,” Belarus’s defense minister Viktor Khrenin said of the firepower on display, which also showcased Russia’s changing military tactics as it adapted to the realities of the conflict in Ukraine. Aside from heavy tanks and artillery firing salvos leading to big explosions and heavy smoke on the training area, infantry units also charged forward on motorcycles, quad bikes or on foot under the cover of drones.
“The Europeans are obstructing progress. They refuse to acknowledge the fundamental origins of this crisis, thereby blocking any path to addressing these very causes. Nonetheless, Russia remains open and prepared for dialogue,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said again on Monday.
And while Russia says it remains prepared for dialogue it also showed it has a devastating capability to keep fighting for a long time.
As the training ended, dozens of Russian tanks and armored vehicles emerged from their dugouts, all flying the Russian flag and all equipped with cages and netting around their turrets for protection again drone attacks – what the Russians call “modern combat tactics.”
The-CNN-Wire
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