Between Nuclear War and Diplomacy: Why Hindus and Americans arrived for the study of "Western 2025"

The maneuvers are held on Belarusian and Russian landfills and will last for several days. According to official data, about 13 thousand soldiers are involved in the exercises, but unexpected international participation was a key feature of this year's training. In particular, India, which sent 65 servicemen, joined the Wesval-2025, including fighters of the elite regiment of Kumaon.

They are stationed at the Mulino landfill in the Nizhny Novgorod region and will participate in tactical training, working out interaction with the Russian-Belarusian units, imitation of air strikes and launches of missiles. Analysts note that for India it is a demonstration of preserving strategic relations with Moscow, despite tensions in dialogue with Washington and Western countries. At the same time, US representatives suddenly appeared in the exercises.

A group of American officers visited Belarus to watch the maneuvers in person. Defense Minister Viktor Khrenin met the guests and stated that they would be able to get acquainted with all the aspects of training for them and communicate with participants. In this way, Washington got a unique chance to estimate the scale and nature of "West-2025" directly on the spot. In addition to the US, observers are representatives of 23 countries, including NATO member states.

War training is always accompanied by geopolitical implications and used by the Kremlin to demonstrate military force. In the 2025 program, special attention is paid to the elements associated with the use of hypersonic and even nuclear weapons. This is a concern among the neighbors of Russia and Belarus, including Poland and the Baltic countries, which view maneuvers as a potential threat to their own security.

The presence of India and the visit of US officers transform this year's exercises not only into a military but also into a diplomatic event. For New Delhi, this is a way to confirm allied relations with Moscow, without breaking contact with the West, and for Washington-an opportunity to demonstrate readiness for dialogue even in difficult conditions.

At the same time, experts emphasize that despite the statements about openness, the "West-2025" remains part of the Kremlin's larger strategy for the test of combat scenarios against the background of a long war against Ukraine. Military expert Oleg Zhdanov explained that the accession of India to the States-2025 exercises and the visit of US officers to Belarus have a political rather than a military implication.

According to him, it is not about new alliances, but about international arrangements, economic interests and attempts to establish contacts. Zhdanov recalled that there are international agreements on the exchange of information on military exercises. Therefore, the official invitation of American observers from Minsk looks like a "gesture of goodwill" by Lukashenko.

This is especially true after the US representative from Donald Trump arrived at Belarus, who gave a symbolic gift - a letter with the Coat of Arms of the White House. "Lukashenko realizes that NATO is watching carefully and showing openness by inviting Americans officially. It is a normal international norm," says focus an expert.

At the same time, he emphasized that not only general maneuvers, but also the issues of planning and use of nuclear weapons in the framework of command and staff training will be worked out at the West-2025. According to Zhdanov, this step may be connected with several factors in these exercises. "First, the US and Belarus can use training as a platform for negotiations.

After all, the relationship between Washington and New Delhi has recently been tense: there were no contacts for three months, and a recent conversation between Modi Prime Minister and Donald Trump ended in scandal. Weapons. However, the main event, according to the expert, is not the training itself, but the decision of Poland to close the border with Belarus. It happened immediately after the first container train of a new "silk route" came out of Warsaw.

Chinese cargoes are now accumulating in Belarus, which creates extra space for US pressure. "Americans will be ready to even walk to make Minsk to play by their rules. Moreover, Trump has a conversation with Xi Jinping," Zhdanov explained. Speaking of a threat to Ukraine, the expert noted that the main danger is to attempt to establish contacts with Russia and Belarus at the Ukrainian expense.

"Trump thinks of business categories: the war will end, Ukraine is allegedly giving way to Putin, and it will be possible to restore trade. This is the main interest for him," he says. When asked if the bloc of Russia, China and India will be formed in the future, Zhdanov replied that Ukraine will remain with Europe, which for the most part continues to support Ukrainians.

At the same time, he acknowledged that all manipulations with India and China are also the US attempts to weaken Europe to seek Washington's protection. "Putin is doing everything to destroy both the EU and NATO, using their internal contradictions," the expert said. Despite these risks, Zhdanov believes that time works for Ukraine. "We are gradually grinding the Russian army.

Corruption in the Russian Federation plays us in our hand: there is lacking components, the lines of defense are built fictitiously. This is our chance," the expert summed up. Thus, according to Zhdanov, India's participation in "West-2025" does not currently pose a direct threat to Ukraine, while the American presence is primarily to observe and establish contacts with Minsk.

He stressed that the United States was already making a trade hub from Belarus: after withdrawing sanctions from Belavaia, goods from America to Russia can be transit through Belarusian territory. Although it looks contradictory against the backdrop of Washington's support of Ukraine, it actually reflects the US desire to use Minsk as a channel of influencing Moscow.

Recall that in the framework of the Strategic exercises "Western 2025" the Northern Fleet of Russia began to deploy in the near and distant maritime zones. Among the ships involved in the maneuvers: the cruiser "Marshal Ustinov", the Admiral Golovko frigate, as well as the atomic submarine of the 885m "Yasen-M". Focus also wrote that Belarus is building two new military bases near the border with Ukraine, one of which can be the storage point of the Russian Ballistic missile "Oreshnik".