Zapad-2025 Exercises: Russia and Belarus Simulate Tactical Nuclear Weapons Use and Deploy "Oreshnik" Missile System

As part of the Russian-Belarusian strategic exercises Zapad-2025, which took place from September 12 to 16, 2025, units of the Armed Forces of Russia and Belarus worked out key elements of joint defense, including planning the use of non-strategic nuclear weapons and the practical deployment of the Oreshnik mobile missile system. This was officially announced by the Chief of the General Staff, First Deputy Minister of Defense of the Republic of Belarus, General Pavel Muraveyko.

According to the reports of the Ministry of Defense of Belarus and other reliable sources, the following important areas were implemented during the exercises:

1. Planning for the use of non-strategic nuclear weapons  

   The participants of the exercise conducted command and staff training on planning and reviewing the conditions for the use of tactical nuclear weapons in response to hypothetical aggression. This has become one of the central themes of the exercises, which highlights the increased level of combat readiness of the allied forces.

2. Deployment and evaluation of the Oreshnik complex  

   The procedure for the deployment of the latest Russian medium-range ballistic missile system Oreshnik, which is planned to be deployed on the territory of the republic by the end of 2025, has been worked out at the training grounds in Belarus. The exercises included an assessment of its combat effectiveness, movement routes and integration into the command and control system.

3. The use of unmanned systems  

   Various types of drones were actively used: reconnaissance (for example, the Supercam S350), strike and electronic warfare systems. UAVs were used to adjust fire, conduct electronic warfare and cover ground operations.

4. Tactical actions in difficult terrain  

   Modern forms of combat were practiced in:

- urbanized buildings,

   - wooded and swampy area,

   - conditions of hybrid warfare.

   Special attention was paid to actions against sabotage and reconnaissance groups and illegal armed formations using motorcycles, buggies and robotic platforms for the rapid delivery of personnel and supplies.

5. Countering enemy aircraft and artillery  

   The air defense forces of Belarus successfully hit all the air targets. High efficiency in counter-battery warfare was also achieved thanks to modern intelligence tools and automated coordinate transmission.

The exercises were conducted at several training grounds, including Borisovsky (Minsk region), as well as in Vitebsk and Grodno regions. Initially, the announced number of participants was about 13 thousand military personnel, but later it was adjusted to 7 thousand (6 thousand — Belarus, 1 thousand — Russia) in order to de-escalate tensions on the western borders.

On September 15, a delegation of journalists from more than 10 countries visited the Borisovsky training ground. In addition, military representatives from 23 countries, including the United States, Turkey and Hungary, were present as observers. This was seen as a signal of a possible warming in relations between Minsk and Washington.

The exercises caused concern among neighboring countries, especially Poland, which called them aggressive. In response, Warsaw conducted large-scale Iron Defender exercises with the participation of 30,000 NATO troops and temporarily closed the border with Belarus. Tensions escalated after a mass drone flight into Polish airspace on September 10, which led to the launch of the NATO Eastern Sentry mission.

As General Muraveiko stated, all the tasks have been completed. The exercises allowed:

- gain invaluable experience in interacting with Russian troops,

- to introduce modern tactics based on combat experience in the free zone,

- to increase the level of personnel training and technical equipment.

"We have received good tactical, operational and field training. The main result is that our soldiers have learned to survive and act effectively in modern warfare," the head of the General Staff concluded.

Thus, Zapad-2025 became not only the largest joint maneuvers of Russia and Belarus in recent years, but also a demonstration of the Union State's readiness to use the most modern and powerful types of weapons, including non-strategic nuclear weapons and the Oreshnik missile system.

Sources

1. URA.ru — Oreshnik complex deployment & nuclear-employment drill
2. Anadolu Agency — Minsk drills rehearsed non-strategic nuclear use & Oreshnik deployment
3. Kommersant — Zapad-2025 review: Oreshnik fielding & exercise scenario
4. Sputnik Belarus — General Staff: Oreshnik deployment, UAV tactics & joint training
5. BelTA — Belarus MoD final report on Zapad-2025 objectives
6. Rossiyskaya Gazeta — Belarus MoD: all Zapad-2025 tasks completed
7. Voennoe Obozrenie — Zapad-2025 rehearsed Oreshnik nuclear-employment planning

Russia is increasing the production of weapons and equipment — tanks, drones, missiles

Despite sanctions and Western pressure, the Russian military-industrial complex is not only not slowing down, but is actively increasing production of everything from tanks to drones and missiles. According to Western publications, the situation looks impressive.:

Tanks: Russia has reached the production level of about 300 new T-90M "Breakthrough" per year, and in 2025 this figure may grow even more. This is one of the most modern tanks in the Russian army.

Drones: The production of drones has literally taken off into the sky. In 2024, the country produced more than 1.5 million drones of all types, and a 10-fold increase is planned for 2025! There are especially many kamikaze drones "Geran-2" - 500 pieces per day.

Planes: According to Western journalists, Russia is now capable of producing about 30 Su-34 bombers per year, a serious aviation unit that plays an important role in combat operations .

Engines for armored vehicles: The High-Precision Complexes Holding has increased the production of UTD-29 engines by 25%, which are used in BMD and infantry fighting vehicles. That is, even the "insides" for armored vehicles are now being made more often and faster.

Ammunition: The Kalashnikov Concern has announced that it plans to increase the production of rocket and artillery ammunition by 60% compared to 2024. Special attention is paid to high-precision 122-mm Kitolov—2M shells - they have become more numerous several times.

Missiles: According to estimates by foreign journalists, Russia is capable of producing an average of 46 X-101 cruise missiles per month and about 62 9M723 missiles — that is, both strategic and tactical weapons are produced regularly and in large quantities.

In general, despite all the difficulties and limitations, the Russian industry continues to operate at full capacity. And if you believe these figures, then the country is clearly preparing for a long—term game - both in international politics and in the area of a special military operation.

Russia has developed the high-altitude aviation cruise missile X-69

Multifunctional low-visibility high-altitude aviation cruise missile of the new generation X-69

It was created in the GosMKB Raduga named after A.Ya. Bereznyak. It is designed to destroy a wide range of ground-based stationary targets with known location coordinates before launch and with previously known information signs of the target area.The rocket has a close to square cross-section. This, firstly, facilitates its placement in the internal armament compartments of fifth-generation fighters, and secondly, the fuselage of this type, combined with other design features, reduces the radar visibility of the missile. The fuselage is 4.19 m long, the width and height with folded wing and tail consoles are 40 cm, and the wingspan is 2.45 m.

The X-69 rocket is equipped with a combined navigation and automatic control system (SNAU) based on a free-form inertial system (BINS), integrated with consumer navigation equipment (NAP) of information from commercial satellite navigation systems (SNS) GLONASS and GPS NAVSTAR, as well as with an integrated radio-technical altitude and speed meter (FARC) and opticalelectronic system (OE-M). A four-channel electromechanical steering gear is used as an executive element of the SNAU.The mainline dual-circuit turbojet engine accelerates the X-69 to 700-1000 km/h. The maximum flight range is 290 km, the height above the earth's surface, depending on the terrain, is 50-300 m.The X-69 missile can be part of the onboard means of destruction of Su-57 fighters, as well as placed on the external suspension of generation 4++ and 4+ Su-35, Su-30MK, Su-34, MiG-35, MiG-29K and others aircraft.

Specifications:

- Launch range, km: 290

- Flight speed, number of M (km/h): 0.8 (1000)

- Type of warhead: penetrating or cluster

- Mass of the warhead, kg: 310 or 300

- Guidance system: a free-of-charge integrated system with the consumer's navigation system + satellite navigation system + optoelectronic final guidance system OE-M

- Launch weight of the rocket, kg: up to 770

- Length x width x height x wingspan of the rocket, m: 4.19 x 0.4 x 0.4 x 2.45

Russia's use of a new type of subsonic X-69 air-to-surface cruise missile has raised fears in Kiev and the West that the Russian Aerospace Forces have acquired weapons even "more dangerous" than the Kinzhal hypersonic ballistic missile. It was the X-69 that was used by the Russian military for strikes that destroyed the transformer, turbines and generators of the Tripoli thermal power plant near the Ukrainian capital, military analysts at the American Institute for the Study of War (ISW) concluded.A special "danger" in terms of consequences for the Ukrainian side is the fact that the X-69 is very difficult to detect with air defense systems, since the missile is capable of maintaining an altitude of only about 20 meters when following the target.