Amid strained relations with the United States, India participated in the Russia-Belarus Zapad-2025 military drills—a move underscoring cordial ties between New Delhi and Moscow.
Apart from India, contingents from Iran, Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Mali also took part in the military exercise near Borisov.
India’s Ministry of Defence on Tuesday confirmed that it sent 65 personnel from the Kumaon Regiment to the five-day exercise, which concluded on September 16.
Russia, India tango amid tiff with US
The joint drills, led by Russia and Belarus, involved around 100,000 troops and focused on improving military cooperation, interoperability, and sharing tactics for conventional warfare and counter-terrorism.
This is not the first time that India has participated in Russian military exercises.
In 2021, shortly before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, New Delhi said it sent an unspecified number of troops to Russia’s Volgograd region to join activities linked to “Counter Terrorism and Conventional operations”.
Notably, the US was also present in the 2025 war games as an observer.
The Pentagon on Tuesday said that US military officials were sent to Borisov to observe the drills on Monday.
This is the first time since Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, that the US has accepted an invitation for the war games.
Trump wishes Modi on his birthday
The confirmation from the Indian side came hours after US President Donald Trump dialled Prime Minister Narendra Modi to wish the Indian leader on his birthday.
Trump on X said Modi was doing a "tremendous job" and thanked him for support on "ending the Russia-Ukraine war".
Trump’s conciliatory words caught the attention of many, as only last month, the US president was doubling down on India for purchasing Russian oil.
The dramatic shift comes at a time when the US and India have resumed trade talks. On Tuesday, US officials met their Indian counterparts in Delhi for the negotiations.
This was the first in-person talks after the US imposed a steep 50% tariff on India last month.
