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.
Lucy Pakhnyuk
