U.S. troops attended Russia-Belarus war games on Monday, Pentagon officials confirmed after news organizations photographed them attending Zapad-2025 , Reuters reported Tuesday. It was the first time U.S. representatives have attended the sprawling exercise since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.

Belarus described the U.S. troops’ appearance as an unexpected addition to the 22 other foreign militaries represented at the wargames, including NATO’s Hungary and Turkey, the Telegraph reported Monday.

“Mr Trump is said to want to reopen the American embassy in Minsk as part of a wider strategy for cultivating ties with one of Vladimir Putin’s closest allies,” the British paper reported, adding, “Just last week, the US president sent [Belarus leader Alexander] Lukashenko a hand-writ

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