PUBLISHED on August 14, 2025, 07:51 AM EDT – Key Points and Summary: Belarus has confirmed it will conduct nuclear weapons deployment exercises with Russia next month, a move that will include training on the new Oreshnik hypersonic missile system.
-The announcement, made just days before a high-stakes summit between President Trump and Vladimir Putin, is a clear strategic signal to the West.
-The “Zapad-2025” drills come as Russia plans to station the nuclear-capable Oreshnik in Belarus by the end of the year, a forward-basing strategy that dramatically reduces missile flight times to NATO capitals and escalates regional tensions.
Belarus Confirms Nuclear Drills Amid Russian Oreshnik Hypersonic Missile Planning
Belarus will conduct nuclear weapons deployment exercises next month near Borisov, according to Defense Minister Viktor Khrenin. The announcement follows reports from earlier this month that Russia has formally begun production of its newest hypersonic missile system, the Oreshnik, and was formalizing plans to station the weapon in Belarus by the end of the year.
Speaking on Wednesday, August 13, Khrenin confirmed that the Zapad-2025 joint drills, set for September 12-16, will include training on the Oreshnik intermediate-range missile system and nuclear strike scenarios. His comments also came just two days before U.S. President Donald Trump is set to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska to discuss a potential land swap deal to end the Ukraine war.
While Belarus has hosted large-scale war games before, Khrenin stressed that this round of exercises would integrate all components of the armed forces, from Western and North-Western Command units to special operations forces.
“This is an important element of our strategic deterrence. As the head of state demands, we must be prepared for anything,” Khrenin said.
“We see the situation on our western and northern borders and cannot calmly watch the militarisation and military activity. We demonstrate our openness and peacefulness, but we must always keep our powder dry.”
Belarus, one of Moscow’s closest allies, has allowed Russian forces to operate from its territory since the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, and deepening ties between the countries could indicate a revival of the kind of forward-basing strategy reminiscent of Cold War Soviet deployments.
Minsk officials say Zapad-2025 is part of a regular two-year exercise cycle, but seen against the backdrop of Moscow’s late-2024 nuclear doctrine revision – which lowered the threshold for nuclear use – the joint drills could also be interpreted as a warning to the West.
Neighboring NATO members Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia – already concerned about the prospect of Russian deployments – are monitoring the build-up closely. Belarusian officials, meanwhile, have cited upcoming NATO drills in Poland, which will involve more than 30,000 troops, as justification for their own preparations.
“We need to watch them very closely (which is what we will be doing) and respond accordingly,” Khrenin said in reference to the upcoming drills. “If they show any aggression toward the Republic of Belarus, we have the means to respond.”
The Oreshnik hypersonic missile, believed to be based on the shelved RS-26 Rubezh, is capable of reaching Mach 10 speeds. The road-mobile intermediate-range system can carry both conventional and nuclear warheads, and features advanced technology to evade interception.
In stationing the missile in Belarus, Russia is entrenching its presence in the country, effectively establishing a hardened buffer and staging ground that could reduce missile flight times to NATO capitals to mere minutes.
About the Author:
Jack Buckby is a British author, counter-extremism researcher, and journalist based in New York. Reporting on the U.K., Europe, and the U.S., he works to analyze and understand left-wing and right-wing radicalization, and reports on Western governments’ approaches to the pressing issues of today. His books and research papers explore these themes and propose pragmatic solutions to our increasingly polarized society. His latest book is The Truth Teller: RFK Jr. and the Case for a Post-Partisan Presidency.
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