Zapad drills Belarus and Russia make a show of military ties

Over a vast rolling field, Russian and Belarusian fighter jets drew fire as tanks shattered mock wooden houses and the buzz of drones filled the air.

- Pjotr Sauer

Moments later, troops stormed in, hoisting the allies' flags above a "liberated" piece of land.

The military drills, part of the major Zapad-2025 military exercises and staged at the Borisov training ground in Belarus, were billed as a defensive response to a notional western invasion - in effect Nato. Zapad, which is the Russian word for west, refers to military drills focused on the western theatre.

Yet the display of firepower, witnessed during a rare western media visit to the authoritarian state, has stirred unease in Europe amid mounting regional tensions and fears that Moscow is probing Nato's defences after Russian drones entered Poland and Romania last week.

"The exercises, in our view, are unprecedentedly open. We pose no threat to anyone and stand for building a constructive and pragmatic dialogue," Valery Revenko, a senior Belarusian military official, told reporters.

He added that the drills, due to end today, had been scaled down to highlight their defensive nature and were held further from Nato's borders than originally planned, in what he described as an effort to reduce tensions in eastern Europe.

Even so, western capitals will be watching closely, mindful that Zapad-2021 gave Vladimir Putin cover to move large formations of troops and equipment westward many of which, months later, were used in the invasion of Ukraine.

The exercises also underscored a growing rift between Europe and Washington in their approaches to the Kremlin.

In a surprise visit, two US military officials attended yesterday's war games - the first known visit by American representatives to a Russian military drill in years.

"The best viewing seats will be provided for you," the Belarusian defence minister, Viktor Khrenin, told one of the two attache, Bryan Shoupe, before the drills. "Thank you for the invitation," said Shoupe, as the two shook hands.