{"id":70275,"date":"2025-08-18T15:59:01","date_gmt":"2025-08-18T15:59:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2025\/08\/18\/russia-belarus-to-hold-joint-military-drill-next-month\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T01:21:38","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T01:21:38","slug":"russia-belarus-to-hold-joint-military-drill-next-month","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/global\/europe\/2025\/08\/18\/russia-belarus-to-hold-joint-military-drill-next-month\/","title":{"rendered":"Russia, Belarus to hold joint military drill next month"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

MILAN \u2014 Russia and Belarus are expected to conduct a joint military exercise next month involving nuclear weapons and Russian-made hypersonic missiles, the Belarusian defense minister said last week. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

During a recent press conference in Minsk, Viktor Khrenin declared that the planned \u201cZapad-2025\u2033 training, to be held from September 12-16, would in part focus on operating the intermediate-range Oreshnik missile, used in Russian-launched attacks on Ukraine. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is an important element for our strategic deterrence \u2013 as the head of state demands, we must be prepared for anything,\u201d Khrenin was quoted by Reuters as saying in an interview with the Belarusian state news agency Belta. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first operational use of the Russian-manufactured missile was reported on November 21, 2024, after an attack on a Ukrainian industrial complex in Dnipro. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The remarks from Khrenin were made only two days ahead of the meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, in Alaska. <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\t