Russia and Belarus practice defense, Putin personally oversaw the maneuvers

Russian President Vladimir Putin took part in the “West 2025” military exercise, which took place on the territory of Russia and Belarus, wearing military uniform. During the inspection, he stated that the main goal of the maneuvers was to prepare the joint forces to defend both countries.

According to him, up to 50,000 soldiers on Russian territory and 7,000 soldiers on Belarusian territory took part in the exercise.

Russia and Belarus have been organizing West maneuvers regularly since 2009. Tens of thousands of soldiers traditionally take part in the exercises.

The Baltic states and Poland have long claimed that the Russian maneuvers are exacerbating tensions in the region. Warsaw describes them as a simulation of an attack on Europe.

(reuters, mja)