NATO and Russia Run Parallel War Games as Ukraine Deepens Strikes, Talks Remain Frozen
NATO’s Grand Eagle 2025 exercise in Lithuania began this week as Russia staged its own West-2025 maneuvers just across the border in Belarus, mobilizing 40,000 troops to simulate a Baltic invasion.
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| Via: NATO Allied Joint Force Command Brunssum (JFCBS) |
The war itself shows no signs of political resolution. Moscow’s envoy Rodion Miroshnik told TASS that Ukraine is “not ready” for negotiations in any format, dismissing Kyiv’s leaders as unwilling to pursue a settlement and calling President Volodymyr Zelensky “illegitimate” since mid-2024.
He argued that Russia will not accept “fake agreements” that could later be disavowed, insisting only a “legitimate representative” of Ukraine could sign binding terms. The statements confirm that the diplomatic track remains blocked, even as the battlefield tempo grinds on.
‼️πΊπ²π²π«π©πͺπ±πΉ BIG | Footage of foreign military arrival in Lithuania as part of the Grand Eagle 2025 exercises
— Visioner (@visionergeo) September 14, 2025
The video likely shows a Belgian military transport Airbus A400M in the country's sky.
See the latest updates with us: @NSTRIKE1231 pic.twitter.com/jiptzZUzoM
On the ground, Ukraine reported 184 clashes in 24 hours, with the fiercest fighting near Pokrovsk. Commanders used elastic defenses to lure Russian troops into pre-scouted kill-zones, where swarms of drones and artillery shredded spearheads.
At Kupiansk, Ukrainian tank units showed how armor can still matter when fused with real-time reconnaissance and precision fires. Across the line, Kyiv leans on sabotage raids, night patrols, and FPV drones to bleed manpower and exhaust Russian formations.
Happening now and till the end of September: EX "Grand Eagle 2025"! Our Allies from @bundeswehrInfo 10. Panzerdivision 37 Armor Brigade training deployment procedures including all logistics in LTU! pic.twitter.com/qwfJSJbcuy
— Lithuanian_Armed_Forces (@LTU_Army) September 13, 2025
Russia presses its own offensive in Donetsk and Kharkiv, advancing tree line by tree line but at heavy cost. Casualties among mobilized troops remain high, with desertions reported. Analysts see Moscow’s design as attritional—forcing Ukraine to expend munitions daily rather than aiming for major breakthroughs.
The air war reflects this asymmetry. Russia launched 58 Shahed drones and a ballistic missile overnight; 52 drones were downed, yet debris still damaged civilian areas.
Ukraine countered with precision strikes that destroyed a Buk-M3 air defense system in Zaporizhzhia, downed a Russian Orion combat UAV, and hit a Black Sea Fleet communications hub in Crimea, crippling naval command-and-control.
After several days on the move, the soldiers of the 131st Logistic Support Battalion have arrived in π±πΉLithuania!
— Germany at NATO (@GermanyNATO) September 12, 2025
As part of "Grand Eagle", a component of the large-scale Exercise Quadriga 2025, the unit covered the 1500 km route to its destination near Kaunas in four days. 1/2 pic.twitter.com/Ko5A8Wh9WB
Most significant was a deep-strike on the Kirishi refinery near St. Petersburg, which processes more than 20 million tons of oil a year—roughly 6–7% of Russia’s gasoline, diesel, and aviation fuel. A fire there disrupts both domestic markets and military logistics.
Today we announce the launch of “Eastern Sentry” to bolster our posture even further along our eastern flank.
— Mark Rutte (@SecGenNATO) September 12, 2025
This military activity will involve a range of assets from Allies.
Eastern Sentry will make clear that #NATO is always ready to defend. pic.twitter.com/fcdjdnHX5w
Border incidents add further strain. On September 10, Poland shot down drones that violated its airspace nineteen times in one night. Warsaw called NATO consultations under Article 4, while Moscow denied targeting Poland and offered technical talks.
Poland refused. Russia’s envoy Mikhail Ulyanov said Warsaw’s refusal “looks like a provocation,” while Washington urged caution. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio labeled the incident “dangerous and unacceptable” but stopped short of declaring it deliberate, saying the U.S. wanted “all the facts” before attributing intent.
NATO announced plans to beef up defenses along Europe’s eastern flank after Poland shot down drones that violated its airspace — a first for a Western alliance member during Russia’s war in Ukraine https://t.co/XZlzIoZNXF pic.twitter.com/hCQVqmneCM
— Reuters (@Reuters) September 13, 2025
For NATO, however, the pattern is clear. After repeated incursions into Polish and Romanian skies, Operation Eastern Sentry was launched to layer new defenses across the eastern flank.
Dutch F-35s, German Patriot batteries, and French Rafales are already deployed. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte warned that Russian missiles reach Western Europe barely minutes later than Eastern Europe, stressing that “all of us live on the eastern flank.”