Belarus has announced a significant reduction in the scale of the upcoming September military drills conducted jointly with Russia, known as Zapad-2025. The Belarusian Defense Ministry stated on May 28, 2025, that the number of participating troops will be nearly halved, and the exercises will be relocated further inside Belarus, away from the country's western border.
Defense Minister Viktor Khrenin emphasized in an official statement shared on the ministry's Telegram channel that this adjustment aims to highlight Belarus's peaceful intentions to both allies and international observers. General Valery Revenko, head of the ministry's international cooperation department, confirmed at a security forum in Bishkek that the troop count would decrease from the originally planned 13,000 soldiers.
The Zapad drills, historically involving tens of thousands of personnel, are closely monitored due to their proximity to NATO member states on Belarus's western flank. These exercises have previously sparked anxiety in Ukraine, Poland, and the Baltic countries over potential military escalations. For instance, the 2021 Zapad drills included approximately 200,000 troops shortly before Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky recently expressed concerns that Russia might be leveraging these drills as a pretext for further aggression from Belarusian territory. Belarus's decision to scale down and reposition the drills may partially allay regional tensions, however, the situation remains closely watched amid ongoing geopolitical volatility.
