Lithuania launches military drills near Belarus border ahead of Zapad-2025 exercises
Lithuania will hold the Arsus Vilkas 2025 (Fierce Wolf 2025) military exercises between Aug. 11 and 22 in areas near the border with Belarus, the Lithuanian military announced on Aug. 10.
The drills come days after the first echelon of Russian troops and equipment arrived in Belarus for the large-scale Zapad-2025 exercises, which are scheduled for mid-September.
Organized by the Gelezinis Vilkas battalion, the Lithuanian exercise will involve about 350 personnel and 50 pieces of equipment, with simulated ammunition and pyrotechnics used throughout the drill.
The first week will see infantry companies and battalion headquarters redeploy to the Varena district in the south for defensive operations in populated areas using Vilkas infantry fighting vehicles.
The second week will focus on division-level live fire exercises at the Gaiziunai training ground in central Lithuania.
Lithuania, a NATO and EU member bordering both Belarus and Russia's Kaliningrad exclave, has been one of the alliance's most outspoken critics of Moscow since the start of the full-scale war in Ukraine.
Kyiv and NATO have expressed concern that the Zapad-2025 drills could be used as cover for renewed Russian aggression, as Russia continues its war against Ukraine while Belarus remains a potential staging ground.
Belarusian Deputy Defense Minister Pavel Muraveika previously said the drills would take place away from the western border to reduce tensions, but on July 23, Minsk signaled a possible change, citing what it called increasing military activity by Poland and Lithuania.
Ukraine's State Border Guard Service spokesperson Andrii Demchenko said on Aug. 11 that several hundred Russian soldiers and dozens of pieces of equipment had arrived in Belarus to participate in drills.
Speaking on national television, Demchenko said this number does not pose a threat to Ukraine, while intelligence units continue to track any further arrivals of Russian forces in Belarus.
Following the Zapad-2021 drills, Moscow and Minsk conducted the "Union Resolve-2022" exercise, which directly preceded and facilitated the Kremlin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
President Volodymyr Zelensky warned in February that Russia planned to deploy up to 150,000 troops, the equivalent of 15 divisions, to Belarus.
