Zapad 2025: Russian military exercise causing concern

Latvia’s defence chief Kaspars Pudans is concerned about the upcoming joint Russia-Belarus strategic military exercise.

Kaspars Pudans points out that Zapad military exercises have taken place every four years since 2013, and the national armed forces are always concerned by Russian announcements of such large-scale exercises near the Latvian border.

On the one hand, the armed forces understand this is a routine exercise, but over the years, the military has always been placed on alert for the duration of such manoeuvres, Pudans explains. This means more in-depth intelligence gathering on Russian and Belarusian troop movements, as well as increased readiness within the armed forces and the organisation of their own military drills.

“As the armed forces observed in spring 2021 and in 2022, when unplanned military exercises were organised by Russia near the Ukrainian border, these were later transformed into an attack on Ukraine,” explains Pudans.

“What the Zapad exercises will look like will also depend greatly on what happens in Ukraine. We will certainly continue to monitor the situation closely and keep an eye on other factors, including the redeployment and return of Russian military forces from Ukraine,” Pudans emphasises.

(MH with AmBar - Source: The Baltic Times - Photo: © Unsplash)