The goal of the Zapad 2025 exercises is to practice defending the Union State of Russia and Belarus against any aggression, Russian President Vladimir Putin said, according to TASS.

“The purpose of the exercises is to work out all the necessary elements for the unconditional defense of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Union State and its protection against any aggression,” Putin said on Tuesday after arriving at the Mulino training ground in the Nizhny Novgorod region to observe the exercises.

According to him, the exercises are being held at 41 training grounds, with 100,000 military personnel participating and about 10,000 weapons and equipment systems involved.