US military attend Zapad exercises in Belarus in unexpected move
American military officers have attended joint Russian-Belarusian military exercises Zapad-2025 on Monday 15 September.
As reported by Reuters, Belarusian Defence Minister Viktor Khrenin told the visiting US officers that they could look at "whatever is of interest for you". Khrenin described the presence of the Americans at the training ground in Belarus as a surprise.
"Who would have thought how the morning of another day of the Zapad-2025 exercise would begin?" the Belarusian Defence Ministry said.
The ministry issued a statement that noted the participation of US officers among representatives from 23 countries, including two other NATO members – Türkiye and Hungary.
The ministry released footage showing two US officers in uniform thanking Khrenin for the invitation and shaking his hand.
"We will show whatever is of interest for you. Whatever you want. You can go there and see, talk to people," Khrenin told them. The US officers declined to speak to journalists.
The attendance of American officers marks the latest sign of warming relations between Washington and Belarus, a close ally of Russia that allowed Moscow to use its territory to send tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in February 2022.
The United States lifted sanctions on Belarusian state-owned airline Belavia, while the regime of Alexander Lukashenko, the self-proclaimed president of Belarus, released 52 political prisoners, including an employee of the EU delegation in Minsk.
The Zapad exercises in Belarus are taking place at training grounds located deep inside the country or in its eastern regions. NATO remains on high alert over the exercises launched on 12 September.
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18 of September 2025
