On NATO's doorstep, Russia is rehearsing for war.

It has deployed tanks, battleships and supersonic bombers for military drills with Belarus that are happening on land, at sea and in the air.

'Zapad-2025' are the allies' first joint exercises since the invasion of Ukraine, and on Sunday involved the launch of a hypersonic missile in the Barents Sea.

"There are several strategic goals here that [Russia and Belarus] want to achieve," Hanna Liubakova, an independent Belarusian journalist, told Sky News.

"Scare, show that they are capable, show that they can threaten… and of course, they're also checking what the reaction and response could be."

The reaction so far has been frosty, to say the least.

Image: A Russian nuclear submarine sets out to sea during the practice run. Pic: AP.

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