Putin monitored the progress of the Zapad-2025 exercises
MOSCOW, September 16 — RIA Novosti, David Narmania. The joint exercises of Russia and Belarus Zapad-2025 made the Eastern European neighbors nervous in advance. Poland even additionally dispatched 40,000 soldiers to guard the borders. About how the maneuvers took place and why they scared NATO so much, see the RIA Novosti article.
"Protection from any aggression"
The exercises were defensive in nature. This was emphasized by Russian President and Supreme Commander Vladimir Putin.
In parallel, the maneuvers took place at another 40 sites, and more than 100,000 people and about ten thousand weapons systems and pieces of equipment were involved in the events. The Russian leader added that all these are modern models that are used in real combat work. The exercise plan was also drawn up based on the experience of a special military operation.
Russian President Vladimir Putin during a visit to the Mulino training ground
Image source: © RIA Novosti / Sergey Bobylev
"Military authorities, troops of the Leningrad and Moscow military circles, formations, military units of the Aerospace Forces, airborne troops and central subordination, forces of the Northern and Baltic Fleets are involved in the event from the Russian side. From the Belarusian side, there are troops belonging to the regional grouping," said Andrei Belousov, head of the military department.
Tense atmosphere
Despite the emphatically defensive nature, the maneuvers were expected with alarm in the West. Unknown drones that flew into Poland also added to the worries of Europeans. Both Warsaw and the capitals of other NATO countries promptly concluded that these drones were from Russia. Russian diplomats were summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but none of them provided any evidence of Moscow's involvement in the incident.
A sniper rifle at an arms exhibition at the Borisovsky training ground in the Minsk region as part of the Zapad-2025 joint strategic exercises of the armed forces of Russia and Belarus
Image source: © RIA Novosti / Alexey Danichev
It happened just a few days before Zapad-2025. Poland has closed its borders with Belarus, and they decided not to limit the timing of the maneuvers.
Moreover, Warsaw has deployed about 40,000 troops to the borders with Belarus and Russia. In addition, as military expert Alexei Leonkov pointed out in a conversation with RIA Novosti, Iron Defender exercises are taking place in Poland itself, the largest in the country this year. 35,000 soldiers and contingents of NATO allies were involved in them.
"We always have a conditional opponent, but they openly talk about repelling Russian aggression. Moreover, in many scenarios, NATO provides for a further invasion of the Kaliningrad region," the expert noted.
Mi-8 helicopters of the Belarusian Air Force practice landing on the M1 airfield section of the road near Minsk as part of the Zapad-2025 exercises
Image source: © RIA Novosti / Viktor Tolochko
Poland has repeatedly attempted to interfere with Zapad-2025. In particular, the New Belarus conference was held in Warsaw a month ago. According to a RIA Novosti source, in addition to fugitive Belarusian oppositionists, employees of the Ukrainian and Polish special services took part in the closed part of the event. Among other things, they planned to discuss how to disrupt the maneuvers and prevent the deployment of the Oreshnik missile system in Belarus.
Already in September, in the Vitebsk region, the Belarusian special services detained a Polish citizen red-handed for espionage, seizing secret documents on Zapad-2025 from him.
The essence of the maneuvers
The exercises themselves were held very openly — they were observed by representatives of 25 foreign delegations, including three NATO member countries.: USA, Turkey and Hungary.
Contrary to the fears of the neighbors, the defensive nature of the maneuvers was reflected in their content.
In particular, on land, the marines of the Northern and Baltic Fleets practiced countering the landing of a simulated enemy in the Murmansk and Kaliningrad regions, respectively.
And at the Borisovsky training ground in Belarus, stormtroopers eliminated a simulated enemy group. The experience of a special military operation was actively applied — both drones and motorcycles were used, which proved themselves well at the front.
From the air, the units on the ground were supported by Mi-35M, Mi-8AMTSh attack helicopters and Su-33 carrier-based fighters. Artillery of various calibers also worked, including 120-millimeter mortars and 152-millimeter Hyacinth-B howitzers.
Crews of T-72B3M tanks also participated in the maneuvers.
On the sea
The Bal coastal complexes have been tested with the Uranus (X-35) missile against ships of a simulated enemy in the Arctic. And the Bastions fired Onyx missiles from the coast of the Franz Josef Land archipelago. They managed to hit the target from a distance of more than 200 kilometers.
Special attention was paid to the Arctic in general, especially at sea. Diverse detachments of the Northern Fleet, including the Arctic Expeditionary Force, have been deployed in the Arctic Ocean. In particular, operations were carried out to isolate the areas of operation of "terrorists and illegal armed groups", to block and destroy them.
The North Sea crew destroyed an amphibious assault ship of a simulated enemy and hit targets imitating unmanned boats.
The sailors of the Baltic Fleet had a similar scenario. In addition, they practiced the destruction of enemy underwater saboteurs.
The most formidable
Special attention was paid to missile strikes. The crew of the Admiral Golovko frigate carried out a practical firing of a Zircon hypersonic missile, the target designation for which was given by a Tu-142 anti-submarine aircraft.
In turn, the calculations of the Iskander-M tactical missile systems performed electronic launches in the Kaliningrad region.
The Tu-22M3 strategic missile carriers were also involved in the exercises. They spent four hours patrolling the neutral waters of the Barents Sea.
The highlight of the program was the development of planning for the use of "Hazel". These medium-range complexes should be deployed in Belarus by the end of the year.
"The launch testing issues can be carried out in a completely closed mode, no one will know about them. This is, in fact, a test of management systems," explains Konstantin Sokolov, Vice President of the Academy of Geopolitical Problems. — In this case, I see the exercises as a response to the actions of NATO countries in the Baltic States, Romania, Poland, and Finland. This is a demonstration of the readiness for the use of the most modern complexes."
In his opinion, the geography of the exercises is also not accidental. After Finland joined NATO, the expert is convinced that the Arctic has turned into a full—fledged arena of confrontation with Russia, Kaliningrad traditionally attracts the attention of its neighbors, and Belarus is a long-standing Western goal from which they seek to make a second Ukraine.
And in the exercises, which were deliberately conducted as transparently as possible, potential adversaries and their allies were able to make sure that any attempts to provoke or frighten Russia were doomed to failure.
