Kateryna Chornovol23:35, 15.09.25

India’s decision to join the ongoing exercises amid rising tensions between NATO and Russia is a worrying sign, analysts say.

India has sent troops to take part in the Russia-led Zapad 2025 military exercises, The Times reports .

Some 30,000 Russian and Belarusian soldiers are taking part in the exercises, which include ballistic missile launches and simulated airstrikes. The exercises cover a wide area, from bases east of Moscow and in the Arctic to the Baltic Sea and Belarus’s western border, near Poland and Lithuania.

“India’s Defense Ministry said it had sent 65 troops, including elements of the Kumaon Regiment, one of the army’s most revered units. They are stationed at the Mulino training ground, about 40 miles (85 kilometers, – UNIAN) west of Nizhny Novgorod, far from NATO’s borders,” the report said.

Delhi says it wants to strengthen defence cooperation and promote friendly relations between India and Russia, “thereby reinforcing the spirit of cooperation and mutual trust.”

It is noted that the Indian military, together with Russian soldiers, will participate in exercises, tactical training and practicing the use of special weapons.

The publication recalled that India participated in the Zapad exercises before Russia carried out a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and several other exercises since. But, according to analysts, the decision to join the current exercises amid rising tensions between NATO and Russia is a worrying signal.

American geostrategic consultant David Merkel said the decision showed how much Delhi values ​​its ties with Moscow.

“India’s active participation in the Zapad exercises following the drone incursion into Poland and the cooling of relations between Washington and New Delhi raise concerns about the future of the US-India security relationship. It demonstrates the priority New Delhi places on its relations with Moscow, which Modi is increasingly relying on given the uncertainty of his relationship with President Trump,” he explains.

In turn, German foreign policy analyst Ulrich Speck believes that with this step India has “crossed a red line.”Read also:

Meanwhile, The Hill reported that American military personnel unexpectedly showed up at the Zapad exercises and observed their progress. The two officers were personally greeted by Belarusian Defense Minister Viktor Khrenikov, who shook their hands.

The publication notes that this was the first such visit by American officers to the country since the start of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, at the beginning of which, as is known, the Russian army also advanced from the territory of Belarus.

Exercises “Zapad-2025”

As is known, the joint exercises of Russia and Belarus called “Zapad-2025” started on September 12, 2025.

The exercises took place not only on the territory of Belarus. The Baltic Fleet of the aggressor country also practiced combat operations in the Kaliningrad region of the Russian Federation.

Bild wrote that in these exercises the Russian Federation  is practicing the capture of the Suwalki Corridor . At the same time, the part of the exercises where the use of the Oreshnik is practiced pursues an exclusively psychological goal – to intimidate Belarus’s neighbors.

(C)UNIAN 2025