Overview

• Russia’s Defense Ministry said the Sept. 12–16 Russia–Belarus exercises have ended and participating units are returning to their permanent bases.
• Ukraine’s State Border Guard Service said Russian troops have started departing Belarusian training areas, noted that not all have left, and reported no provocations along the Ukrainian border during the drills.
• Moscow reported roughly 100,000 personnel across 41 training grounds with 333 aircraft and 247 naval vessels, highlighting extensive use of drones, electronic warfare and precision weapons.
• Foreign involvement included India’s 65-person contingent, task forces from Iran, Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, the DRC and Mali, and U.S. military observers attending for the first time since 2022.
• EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas called the exercises a security concern and urged compliance with transparency commitments, as Belarus’s Alexander Lukashenko said training ranged from conventional arms to nuclear-capable scenarios.