The joint Russia-Belarus military exercise involving thousands of troops continued on Monday at the Barysaw training ground, about 74 kilometers (46 miles) northeast of Minsk.

International media were invited to watch drills featuring live fire, drone air strikes, mobile fire groups on motorcycles and buggies, air defense support, and the evacuation of wounded soldiers and damaged equipment with robotic vehicles.

The exercises, dubbed “Zapad 2025,” or “West 2025,” are intended to showcase close defense ties between Moscow and Minsk, as well as Russia's military might. They are held in both Belarus and Russia and will last through Tuesday.  

The maneuvers follow a recent incursion of Russian drones into Polish airspace which fueled longstanding fears that the hostilities in Ukraine could trigger a wider conflict.

The drills come as Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has made recent moves to improve relations with the West, including the release of fifty two political prisoners in a deal brokered by the United States.