Defense Ministry: Zapad 2025 focuses on practicing purely defensive operations

“The [Zapad 2025] exercise focuses on planning aspects and the practical execution of tasks by troops when conducting purely defensive operations. The troops are using the experience of modern conflicts, which has been accumulated by representatives of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation and summarized by the Armed Forces of Belarus,” the deputy defense minister said.

According to him, the results of the activities indicate that at the level of planning, management, interaction, as well as practical actions when performing assigned tasks, there is full integration and interaction at all levels, from strategic down to tactical.

“We understand perfectly well that the time of battalion attacks on various kinds of fortifications has already passed. The time dictates completely different forms and methods of performing tasks, both at the strategic and operational and tactical levels,” Aleksandr Naumenko stressed.

He noted that issues of combating sabotage and reconnaissance groups and illegal armed formations, issues of guarding and defending concentration areas, covering them from air attack assets, and changing concentration areas have already been worked out.

“These same issues will be worked out during the drill on the 227th training ground with live firing using all types of weapons, military and special equipment, which are currently in the inventory of operational commands, formations, and military units. Ranging from aviation to the actions of assault groups, including with the use of those means that are now being introduced: evacuation platforms, unmanned aerial vehicles for various purposes,” the deputy defense minister.