"Over a vast rolling field, Russian and Belarusian fighter jets drew fire as tanks shattered mock wooden houses and the buzz of drones filled the air. Moments later, troops stormed in, hoisting the allies' flags above a liberated piece of land consumed by flames. The military drills, part of the major Zapad-2025 military exercises and staged at the Borisov training ground in Belarus, were billed as a defensive response to a notional western invasion in effect Nato."
"The exercises, in our view, are unprecedentedly open. We pose no threat to anyone and stand for building a constructive and pragmatic dialogue, Valery Revenko, a senior Belarusian military official, told reporters after the drills. He added that the drills, due to end on Tuesday, had been scaled down to highlight their defensive nature and were held further from Nato's borders than originally planned, in what he described as an effort to reduce tensions in eastern Europe."
Massive joint Russian-Belarusian Zapad-2025 exercises were staged at the Borisov training ground in Belarus, featuring fighter jets, tanks, drones and troop storming operations. Officials described the drills as defensive, scaled down, and held further from NATO borders to reduce tensions. Western capitals expressed unease because Russian drones recently entered Poland and Romania and because Zapad-2021 preceded large troop movements that later supported the invasion of Ukraine. The exercises highlighted a widening gap between European and Washington approaches to the Kremlin and prompted close Western scrutiny of Moscow’s military signaling and intentions.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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