Zapad 2025:
Drills or War? Russia and Belarus Launch Joint Exercises

Photo: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

Russian troops during the active phase of the military exercises “Zapad-2021”
in Nizhny Novgorod Region, Russia. Photo: Reuters

Arrival of the first railway echelon with russian troops in Belarus for
the Zapad-2025 exercises, August 2025. Photo: Russian media