At times, the sound of these military drills was deafening.

There were fighter jets screaming overhead, air strikes on "enemy" forces, and tracer rounds from artillery units pounding out of the barrels.

Fireballs and mushroom clouds would periodically appear far off on the landscape, followed by a sudden explosive thud several seconds later.

I was watching from the safety of a viewing platform, along with other members of the international media.

But even at that distance, the various blasts were still powerful enough to reverberate through me.

Image: Russian troops load an Iskander missile onto a mobile launcher. Pic: Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP

This was the fourth day of 'Zapad-2025' - the joint military drills Russia holds with Belarus roughly every four ye

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