Russia and Belarus on Friday launched a long-planned joint military exercise involving thousands of troops that has raised concern in the West.

The exercises, dubbed “Zapad 2025,” or “West 2025,” are held in Belarus and Russia and will last through Tuesday. They are intended to showcase close defense ties between Moscow and Minsk, as well as Russia’s military might as it fights its 3½-year-old war in neighboring Ukraine.

The maneuvers follow an incursion of Russian drones into Polish airspace earlier this week which fueled longstanding fears that the hostilities in Ukraine could trigger a wider conflict. The Russian military said it wasn’t targeting Poland, and Belarus suggested drones veered off course. But European leaders described it as a deliberate provocation, forcing NATO allies t

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