Vladimir Putin stepped into the spotlight once again, donning full military fatigues for a visit to the Zapad 2025 war games.
The exercises were held roughly 500 miles from the nearest frontline, yet the display was designed to send a strong message.
Unlike Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who frequently appears on the frontline in uniform with his troops, Putin kept a safe distance while showcasing his army attire and a pair of Strekoza tactical glasses ahead of US President Donald Trump’s visit to Windsor.
Drone Strikes Shake Kharkiv
While Putin was attending the war games, his forces carried out a deadly drone strike on a residential area in Kharkiv, eastern Ukraine.
The city’s prosecutor’s office confirmed that four people were injured.
Videos showed a missile spiraling through the air before hitting a building, engulfing it in flames.
A nearby educational facility also suffered damage.
Aerial footage revealed properties missing most of their roofs as firefighters worked to control the devastation.
Zapad 2025: A Show of Strength
The Zapad-2025 exercises, conducted in Belarus, were framed as defensive maneuvers against a hypothetical Western invasion.
Putin welcomed foreign observers and participants, praising the exercises as professionally useful and a way to restore trust between nations.
He boasted of the massive scale: 100,000 servicemen, 10,000 weapons systems, 333 tactical and strategic aircraft, over 247 naval vessels, and 25 foreign delegations participating across 41 training grounds.
NATO on High Alert
The exercises coincided with heightened tensions in Europe.
Russian drone incursions into NATO airspace last week tested the alliance’s resolve.
Former British Army Colonel Hamish de Bretton-Gordon warned that Putin is likely to continue these provocations if NATO fails to respond decisively.
Poland labeled the incursions as deliberate provocations, though Russia claimed no Polish territory was targeted.
European allies quickly strengthened the eastern frontier through the “Eastern Sentry” mission, aiming to deter further Russian aggression.
De Bretton-Gordon criticized earlier NATO complacency, saying the alliance had previously underestimated Putin’s ambitions.
Between September 9 and 13, multiple drones breached Polish, Romanian, and Latvian airspace, prompting NATO jets to scramble and intercept them.
Calls for Action in Ukraine
These incursions have intensified calls for stronger support to Ukraine and its western neighbors.
Poland’s foreign minister, along with Zelensky, has advocated for NATO to actively shoot down Russian drones and missiles over Ukraine.
De Bretton-Gordon emphasized that establishing a no-fly zone could demonstrate NATO’s seriousness without succumbing to threats from Russian officials about World War III.
Russia’s Limitations and Strategic Messaging
Despite the show of force, experts note Russia’s military capacity is not what it once was.
Natia Seskuria, an international security expert, pointed out that the scale of the Zapad drills is smaller than previous exercises but still serves as a testing ground for different war scenarios.
Historically, Zapad drills have preceded Russian operations, such as the 2008 Georgia invasion and the initial moves in Ukraine.
Seskuria explained that the combination of war games and drone provocations allows Putin to signal that his ambitions extend beyond Ukraine.
It also tests NATO’s willingness to defend frontline allies like Poland and the Baltic states.
For Putin, these maneuvers serve a dual purpose: reassure domestic audiences while pressuring NATO externally.
What Comes Next
Observers suggest that while the immediate threat to Europe may not escalate into full-scale conflict, the situation remains volatile.
Russia is gauging NATO’s limits and signaling that its regional ambitions could extend beyond Ukraine.
For the West, the challenge is to maintain resolve without overreacting, balancing deterrence with diplomacy as tensions continue to simmer.