Belarusian Defence Minister Viktor Khrenin said on Wednesday that next month’s Zapad-2025 joint exercises with Russia will include drills on planning the use of nuclear weapons and Russia’s new Oreshnik intermediate-range hypersonic missile. The manoeuvres are scheduled for 12–16 September at training grounds near Borisov in central Belarus. Khrenin described the exercises as an “important element of strategic deterrence”, citing increased NATO activity on Belarus’s borders. Moscow says the Oreshnik, which can carry a nuclear warhead, has entered serial production and was first employed in combat against the Ukrainian city of Dnipro last November. The announcement has heightened security concerns in neighbouring Poland, Lithuania and Latvia, all NATO members. Their apprehension comes as Poland prepares to host separate NATO drills involving roughly 34,000 troops later this month. The nuclear-focused exercises will take place just days before U.S. President Donald Trump meets Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska to discuss a possible settlement of the war in Ukraine, adding diplomatic weight to the timing of the drills.