Kremlin says Putin personally supervises Russian-Belarusian joint military drill

Russian President Vladimir Putin personally supervised the Russian-Belarusian military exercises Zapad-2025 on Tuesday, the Kremlin said.

Putin arrived at the Mulino training ground in the Nizhny Novgorod region wearing a military uniform as he is also the supreme commander-in-chief of the Russian army.

Addressing the participants, the Russian president said the goal of the exercises is to practice defending the Union State-a name for the alliance between Russia and Belarus-from any aggression.

"The purpose of this exercise is to train all necessary elements for unconditional protection of sovereignty, territorial integrity, and defense against any aggression towards the Union State," he said.

The president said that the exercises take place at 41 training grounds, involving 100,000 servicemen and about 10,000 units of weapons and equipment.

"Moreover, it's all modern technology used in practical combat operations, and the plans for these exercises are based on experience gained during special military operations. There are around 10,000 models of different types of equipment, including 333 aircraft-tactical, strategic, and military transport aviation," he said.

Additionally, according to him, more than 247 ships, including surface vessels, submarines, and support vessels, are engaged in the drill.

According to the Russian leader, 25 foreign delegations participated in the exercises, 16 of them sent representatives to observe, while six sent military contingents to participate in the drill.