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Belarusian Defense Minister Viktor Khrenin announced on Wednesday that nuclear weapons exercises to practice deployment will soon be held near Borisov in the Minsk Region. This comes as U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are scheduled to meet in the United States.
The latest nuclear exercises follow Russia’s formal revision of its nuclear doctrine in late 2024, which lowered the threshold for potential use of nuclear weapons—changes that Western officials say were aimed at deterring expanded military support for Ukraine. Belarus has been one of Russia’s staunchest allies throughout the long war with Ukraine, which escalated when Putin invaded territory across the border.
Putin and Trump are scheduled to meet on Friday this week at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Alaska—the largest military facility in the state. The world leaders intend to discuss options for ending the conflict in Ukraine, which began in February 2022. European venues such as Vienna and Geneva were ruled out due to legal risks associated with hosting Putin, who faces an International Criminal Court arrest warrant for war crimes.
In July, Trump and former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev engaged in a back-and-forth about a peace deal and nuclear provocations, with Trump telling Putin’s confidant that he should “watch his words” and avoid “dangerous territory.”
Khrenin said that the main troop maneuvers for Belarus-Russia Zapad-2025 exercises would include use of the Oreshnik system. The primary active events and troop operations for Zapad-2025 would be concentrated on training grounds near Borisov in the Minsk Region, with a larger exercise set for September 12-16.
This is part of a planned event held every two years rather than a “sudden decision.” Belarus reported that all components of its armed forces would participate, with core contingents from Western and North-Western Commands and special operations forces taking part in the maneuvers near Borisov. Participants will practice countering airstrikes, combating enemy sabotage groups, and planning nuclear-weapons deployment—including with the Oreshnik system.
Russia showed “utter disrespect” toward Trump when it launched a large combined drone and missile attack on Ukraine hours after Trump and Putin ended their phone call in July, according to Mikhail Alexseev, a political science professor at San Diego State University. This comes after months of Moscow delaying and obstructing Trump’s efforts to negotiate an end to the war.
Alexseev said one of Russia’s underlying objectives is to signal to the rest of the world that America will never again be first, cannot protect its friends and allies, even those who share its fundamental values such as freedom of speech and religion. Putin’s goals and Trump’s worldview are “fundamentally irreconcilable.”
Belarus also reported that three Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) exercises—Search, Echelon, and Interaction—would take place from August 31 to September 6 at the Vitebsk training ground. Russian units had already arrived with other CSTO contingents expected to join.
NATO and neighboring countries said they would continue to monitor troop movements and exercises. Western officials reiterated that doctrinal changes by Moscow increased the need for vigilance.
