Vladimir Putin has observed a joint military exercise with Belarus, as tensions across Europe continue to rise after Russian drones flew into Polish airspace last week. Footage from Tuesday (16 September) shows the Russian president, wearing military attire, touring an exhibition of military equipment while overseeing ‘Zapad’ (West) drills between the two allies. It came as the neighbouring countries were wrapping up five days of war games which they said were designed to test their combat readiness to defend to “union state”. Putin claimed that 100,000 soldiers had taken part in the drills. Two days before the games started, around 20 Russian drones flew into Poland’s airspace. Prime Minister Donald Tusk said it was a “provocation” not seen since the Second World War, though Moscow denied targeting Poland.

Sirens sounded and an air raid threat was declared as Warsaw announced Polish and allied fighter jets were operating due to Russian drones buzzing border regions of Ukraine.

Proseguono in Bielorussia le esercitazioni militari congiunte Russia-Bielorussia, denominate “Zapad 2025”, con la partecipazione di migliaia di soldati. Le manovre si svolgono nel…