Military observers from NATO countries, including representatives of the United States Armed Forces, were present at the joint Russia-Belarus Zapad-2025 exercises, according to Belarusian Defense Minister Viktor Khrenin, who spoke to the state news agency BelTa. “Observers from 23 countries attended. Among them were three from NATO states, including the US. I even managed to speak with them and said: watch, observe, and draw your own conclusions,” Khrenin noted. The minister stressed that the drills were conducted in an atmosphere of unprecedented openness, with foreign representatives given direct access to observe the maneuvers.