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Belarus has decided to reduce the scale and intensity of the joint West 2025 exercise with Russia and move the main manoeuvres inland, away from the borders with Poland, Lithuania and Ukraine. This was announced on 22 May by Belarusian Defence Minister Viktor Khrenin during a meeting of the CSTO Defence Ministers’ Council in Bishkek, Zerkalo.io reports.
“We have decided to reduce the parameters of the Zapad 2025 exercise and move its main manoeuvres deeper into the territory of the Republic of Belarus from the western borders,” Khrenin said.
According to the Belarusian minister, this decision was made ostensibly to “demonstrate a peaceful position” and readiness for dialogue with the international community. Despite this, Belarus has not yet returned to the implementation of a number of key arms control agreements, the Ministry of Defence of Belarus emphasises.
Valery Revenko, head of the Department of International Military Cooperation at the Ministry of Defence of Belarus, said that the number of participants in the exercise had been reduced by almost half, and the new format was approved in April. More than 13,000 military personnel are expected to take part in the exercise.
At the same time, the Ukrainian military command views such actions with caution. The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Oleksandr Syrskyi, recalled that on the eve of a full-scale invasion in 2022, Russia had already used joint exercises on Belarusian territory as a cover for the formation of a strike group.
“The Zapad 2025 exercise could again become a shield for preparing an offensive operation against Ukraine or NATO countries,” Ukrainian military analysts warn.
The Zapad manoeuvres are held every four years and traditionally include rehearsing offensive scenarios on the western strategic direction. In the light of Russia’s war against Ukraine and the deepening military integration between Moscow and Minsk, any activity of Russian troops in Belarus raises alarm in Kyiv, Warsaw, and Vilnius.
