The Pentagon confirmed on Tuesday that U.S. military officials observed Russia-Belarus joint war games on Monday, marking the first such participation since Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
On Monday, Reuters and other news organisations photographed U.S. military officials in Belarus attending the “Zapad-2025” drills along with observers from other countries. Belarus is a staunch Russian ally and served as a staging ground for Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Russian Deputy Defence Minister Yunus-Bek Yevkurov also attended the drills in Belarus.
“The U.S. Embassy in Minsk, Belarus, received an invitation for our Defence Attache to attend the ZAPAD-2025 military exercise in Belarus as part of the Distinguished Visitor (DV) Day, and we accepted the invitation in light of recent productive bilateral engagements between our countries,” said chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell.
“Attending exercise DV days is a common practice between militaries, and the U.S. Defence Attache is part of a larger group of international military attendees. Due to timing, the incoming Defence Attache was able to attend in conjunction with the outgoing Attache.”
The presence of the U.S. officers, less than a week after neighbouring Poland shot down Russian drones that crossed into its airspace, is the latest sign that Washington is seeking to warm ties with Belarus.
Trump’s Belarus Plan
Western foreign policy analysts speculate that Trump may be trying to peel Belarus away from Russia, a strategy widely viewed as unlikely to succeed, or to exploit its close ties with Moscow to promote a deal to end the war in Ukraine.
Trump, who has suggested that the drone incursion may have been the result of a mistake, last week lifted sanctions on the Belarus national airline Belavia, allowing it to service and buy components for its fleet, which includes Boeing aircraft.
He did so after Lukashenko – who regularly talks to Russian President Vladimir Putin and was given a friendly hand-signed letter from Trump by Coale – agreed to free 52 prisoners, including journalists and political opponents.
Belarusian Defence Minister Viktor Khrenikov personally greeted the two U.S. officers, who shook his hand and, speaking in Russian, thanked him for inviting them.
Parnell did not identify them in his statement to Reuters. But Reuters identified one of them as Air Force Lt. Col. Bryan Shoupe.
A U.S. defence official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the last time the U.S. observed these Zapad drills was in 2021.
(With inputs from Reuters)
