RUSSIA – On September 12, a joint strategic exercise (JSE) of the armed forces of the Republic of Belarus and the Russian Federation (Zapad 2025) was launched.

The military drills will take place in Russian and Belarusian grounds as well as on the waters of the Baltic and Barents seas, and will be conducted from Sept. 12 to 16.

The Russian Defense Ministry said that the drills are planned to “work out issues of managing inter-service, regional and coalition groups of troops (forces) in localizing aggression against the Union State, various options for joint actions to neutralize threats and stabilize the situation on its borders.”

According to the ministry, the first stage of the maneuvers will be devoted to practicing the management of formations and military units in repelling aggression, as well as organizing interaction and all types of support for completing tasks.

The second stage will be the management of troops and forces in restoring the territorial integrity of the Union State, defeating the enemy, including with the participation of a coalition group of troops from friendly states.

For this, operational groups of military command bodies and military contingents of members of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and other partner countries were invited to participate.

The Zapad 2025 marks the final stage of joint training between Russian and Belarusian forces for 2025, aimed at improving the skills of the command staff and headquarters, as well as the level of interaction and field training of regional and coalition groups of troops to maintain peace, protect interests and ensure security.