Russia cuts troop presence in Belarus: Ukraine’s border guards comment on Zapad-2025 military training
Photo: State Border Service of Ukraine Spokesperson, Andrii Demchenko (dpsu.gov.ua)
Ukrainian military says there is currently no mass buildup of Russian troops in Belarus, unlike in 2023, according to State Border Service of Ukraine Spokesperson Andrii Demchenko.
“Of course, the terrorist state (Russia - ed.) has sent certain units, personnel, and equipment to Belarus for these exercises, but their number is significantly smaller than even in 2023, when Russia kept about 10-1212 thousand of its troops on Belarusian territory,” said the State Border Service of Ukraine Spokesperson.
Situation on border
According to Demchenko, the State Border Service of Ukraine continues to closely monitor the situation in Belarus and strengthen defenses along the border.
Ukrainian military explained that the rapid redeployment of a large number of Russian troops to Belarus was unlikely, since this would take time. Ukrainian intelligence would be able to detect such movements in advance.
“I can reassure you: we are not observing any activity toward our border as of now, in fact, the situation was the same yesterday. But of course, we should not relax,” Demchenko concluded.
The State Border Service Spokesperson also stressed that the Russian-Belarusian Zapad-2025 military training is in focus not only for Ukraine, but also for European countries.
The active phase of the Zapad-2025 exercises of Russia and Belarus will take place from September 12 to 16, 2025. More than 13,000 troops are expected to participate in the maneuvers.
Earlier, Belarus announced that during the joint drills with Russia, it intended to practice planning the use of nuclear weapons and the Oreshnik system.
RBC-Ukraine reported that Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced that on the night of Thursday to Friday, the country would close its borders with Belarus because of the Zapad-2025 military training.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that the Russian drone attack on Poland on September 10 could have been part of the Zapad-2025 military exercises.
