NATO said Friday it did not see an immediate military threat as Russia and Belarus kicked off Zapad 2025 military drills.

“We call on Russia and Belarus to act in a predictable and transparent manner in line with their international commitments,” said a NATO official. “We do not see any immediate military threat against any NATO ally.”

The Zapad-2025 exercise, meaning “West” in Russian, enters its peak phase from September 12 to 16, though preparations began weeks earlier with Russian troops arriving in Belarus by mid-August.

This biennial drill, designed to test the Russia-Belarus Union State’s defense against external threats, doubles as a bold signal to NATO, showcasing its military readiness.

This year’s exercise stands out for its nuclear component. Belarusian Defense Minister Viktor Khrenin announced that Zapad-2025 will include training for deploying nuclear weapons, specifically Russia’s Oreshnik missile system, expected to be delivered to Minsk by late 2025.

Khrenin emphasized nuclear weapons as a “key pillar of strategic deterrence.”

By integrating nuclear scenarios, Russia and Belarus amplify the exercise’s psychological impact, blurring the line between routine training and strategic posturing, even without actual nuclear deployment.

Officially, 13,000 troops are involved, but Western analysts suspect the real number is significantly higher, as past Zapad exercises have mobilized tens of thousands of personnel, along with tanks, aircraft, and missile systems.

The drills simulate air defense, counter-sabotage operations, and securing territory against a hypothetical enemy, raising concerns for NATO members like Poland and the Baltic states, who see the maneuvers as a provocative rehearsal near their borders.

European officials view Zapad-2025 as both a test of military preparedness and a tool of intimidation. The large-scale movements of troops and equipment could, in a crisis, serve purposes beyond training.

Russia-Ukraine Peace Talks On Pause

The Kremlin said Friday that peace talks between Russia and Ukraine were on “pause” as US President Donald Trump’s efforts to end the three-and-a-half-year conflict falter.

Pushing for a deal to end the fighting, Trump has engaged in a flurry of diplomacy — including hosting Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Alaska — but Moscow has pressed on with its offensive and aerial barrages.

“Our negotiators have the opportunity to communicate through channels. But for now, it is probably more accurate to talk about a pause,” spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, including AFP, in a briefing call.

“You can’t wear rose-tinted glasses and expect that the negotiation process will yield immediate results,” he added.

Putin has effectively ruled out a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who says a summit is vital to break the deadlock.

Russia has been escalating attacks on Ukraine, launching its biggest ever aerial assault last week that killed several people and set a government building in the capital Kyiv ablaze.

Three rounds of direct peace talks between Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul have failed to yield anything more than large-scale prisoner exchanges.

Russia has maintained a series of hardline demands, including that Ukraine fully cedes the eastern Donbas region — parts of which it still controls.

Kyiv has rejected territorial concessions and wants European troops to be deployed to Ukraine as a peacekeeping force, something Moscow sees as unacceptable.