US military confirms it sent observers to Russia-Belarus war games

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The Pentagon on Tuesday confirmed that U.S. military officials observed joint war games between Russia and Belarus on Monday, accepting an invitation for the first time since Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

On Monday, Reuters and other news organizations photographed U.S. military officials in Belarus attending the "Zapad-2025" drills along with observers from other countries. Belarus is a staunch Russian ally and served as a staging ground for Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. 

Russian Deputy Defense Minister Yunus-Bek Yevkurov also attended the drills in Belarus. 

"The U.S. Embassy in Minsk, Belarus received an invitation for our Defense Attache to attend the ZAPAD-2025 military exercise in Belarus as part of the Distinguished Visitor (DV) Day, and we accepted the invitation in light of recent productive bilateral engagements between our countries," said chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell.

"Attending exercise DV days is a common practice between militaries, and the U.S. Defense Attache is part of a larger group of international military attendees. Due to timing, the incoming Defense Attache was able to attend in conjunction with the outgoing Attache."

The presence of the U.S. officers, less than a week after neighboring Poland shot down Russian drones that crossed into its airspace, is the latest sign that Washington is seeking to warm ties with Belarus.

Western foreign policy analysts speculate that Trump may be trying to peel Belarus away from Russia, a strategy widely viewed as unlikely to succeed, or to exploit its close ties with Moscow to promote a deal to end the war in Ukraine. 

Trump, who has suggested that the drone incursion may have been the result of a mistake, last week lifted sanctions on Belarus national airline Belavia, allowing it to service and buy components for its fleet, which includes Boeing aircraft.

He did so after Lukashenko - who regularly talks to Russian President Vladimir Putin and was given a friendly hand-signed letter from Trump by Coale - agreed to free 52 prisoners, including journalists and political opponents.

Belarusian Defence Minister Viktor Khrenikov personally greeted the two U.S. officers, who shook his hand and, speaking in Russian, thanked him for inviting them.

Parnell did not identify them in his statement to Reuters. But Reuters identified one of them as Air Force Lt. Col. Bryan Shoupe.

A U.S. defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the last time the U.S. observed these Zapad drills was in 2021.

(Reporting by Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali, Editing by Don Durfee and David Gregorio)