Belarus and Russia's show of firepower appears to be a message to EuropeThe drills coincide with a period of heightened tension in the eastern European regionIt's only an exercise, though. It's part of the Zapad-2025 ("West 2025") military drills. In February 2022 I visited Belarus to report on the Belarusian-Russian military exercise "Union Resolve". He had dubbed the "West 2025" drills "very aggressive". The decision by the Belarusian authorities to invite international media to the "West 2025" exercise can be seen two ways.