MINSK, August 12. /TASS/. The Russian and Belarusian troops will practice repelling air strikes and fighting saboteurs at the upcoming Zapad 2025 strategic joint drills, Head of the Belarusian Defense Ministry’s Department for International Military Cooperation, Assistant Defense Minister for International Military Cooperation Valery Revenko said on Tuesday.
"The exercise is set to practice the following episodes: repelling strikes by an enemy’s aerial attack weapons, conducting a defensive battle. crushing an adversary that has driven into the defensive lines and creating conditions for restoring territorial integrity of the state; providing air support for troops, fighting outlawed armed formations, enemy subversive and reconnaissance groups," the defense official told a press briefing.
The drills will be directed by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Belarus, he specified.
The Belarusian side strongly opposes the continued large-scale militarization in Europe that leads to a disruption in the balance of forces, Revenko said.
"We stand categorically against the continued large-scale militarization that leads to a disruption in the balance of forces in Europe. In turn, this results in reduced strategic stability in the world as a whole," he said.
Belarus has invited foreign observers to the upcoming joint drills with Russia, Revenko said.
"In order to maintain regional security and restore trust and good neighborly relations in Europe, the Republic of Belarus provides for maximum openness and transparency of its military activity. In this regard, proceeding from the requirements of the Vienna Document on Confidence-and Security Building Measures, the OSCE member states were notified back in 2024 of the upcoming strategic exercise of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Belarus and the Russian Federation codenamed Zapad 2025 in September this year," the defense official said.
On July 31, the Belarusian side transferred broader information on the drills and invited representatives of all the states - parties to the Vienna Document without any exception, he said.
"Invitations to observe specific episodes of the exercise were also forwarded to other countries and international organizations, including the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). This is vivid proof that the Republic of Belarus supports measures to ensure regional security," Revenko stressed.