10 September 2025, 09:54

Expert calls West’s speculations on Zapad 2025 exercise ‘political operation’

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MINSK, 10 September (BelTA) – Western countries’ speculations about the Belarus-Russia military exercise Zapad 2025 [West 2025] are a political operation, independent military analyst Aleksandr Alesin said in the latest episode of the V Teme [On Point] project on BelTA’s YouTube channel.

Aleksandr Alesin described the current climate along Belarus borders and across the globe as a ‘global hybrid war’. This modern form of conflict, he explained, integrates multiple domains: information and cyber warfare, economic pressure, military posturing, and covert subversive operations within an adversary’s territory.

“If we examine the global situation, the only element absent is direct, large-scale military engagement. All other components are already there,” Aleksandr Alesin emphasized.

The expert highlighted the huge amount of disinformation, speculation, and conjecture surrounding the upcoming Belarus-Russia Zapad 2025 military exercise. He asserted that this disinformation campaign is primarily driven by Western politicians, as military professionals see the situation with clear-eyed realism.

Military personnel are the ones who would ultimately fight and sacrifice, Aleksandr Alesin explained. Their assessment is therefore inherently sober. “What we are witnessing is a political operation, designed by Western politicians for domestic consumption within their own countries,” the expert remarked.

The analyst argued that a conflict serves as a convenient diversion for Western politicians, allowing them to sideline pressing domestic issues, particularly economic crises. “War creates a singular, overwhelming focus. It forces populations to accept austerity and hardship under the pretext of a national security emergency. This is why economic and social grievances are a primary driver behind such rhetoric,” he added.