RKSL
The Frontline
September 15, 2025
Zapad, Russia’s great rehearsal of war staged in Belarus, now bears the mark of American participation, and that fact alone should chill every American patriot and every democratic ally to the bone. The image of American servicemen laying out a red carpet for Vladimir Putin in Alaska a few weeks ago was enough to shock and horrify, a tableau in which the uniform of what was the world’s leading democracy was bent into ceremonial honor for the architect of genocide. Yet even that scene was only a prelude, for Zapad is Russia’s demonstration of menace against NATO and Ukraine, conducted while missiles fall on Kharkiv and drones cross into the skies of Poland and Romania. To send American officers into its gallery is to place the republic’s seal upon the militaries that carry out these crimes.
No one should be surprised. This is the course Trump has followed all along. From the first days of his presidency he disparaged NATO, belittled democratic allies, and praised despots who rule through fear. He echoed Moscow’s narratives, undermined transatlantic institutions, and treated alliances as burdens while cultivating ties with Russia, China, and wrote “love letters” to North Korea. The red carpet in Alaska, the American presence at Zapad, the courting of tyrants, these are not anomalies but deliberate markers of a strategic realignment. American patriots must see it for what it is, and so must our NATO partners and democratic allies, because the implications extend far beyond Ukraine’s borders.
Zapad has always been Russia’s stage for power. Its scenarios are written for offensive war: rapid mobilization, suppression of air defenses, disruption of supply lines, and strikes against capitals. Belarus provides the ground and the obedience, but the design and purpose are Moscow’s, and the intended targets are NATO and Ukraine alike. The presence of American officers transforms the exercise into more than just bluster. It becomes a threat that is bolstered by the presence of the very country that once stood as guarantor of the democratic order.
The timing only magnifies America’s betrayal. Russian drones forced NATO aircraft into action over Poland and soon after crossed into Romania. These were deliberate probes, intended to test the alliance and expose hesitation. America’s proper response was not to be hosted in Minsk but to reinforce NATO’s eastern flank, and that means first and foremost strengthening Ukraine. Every missile intercepted over Kharkiv protects Warsaw. Every drone destroyed near Odesa protects Romania. Every Russian battalion broken in Donbas protects Finland and the Baltic capitals. The defense of NATO and the defense of Ukraine are not separate undertakings. They are the same project, and they are inseparable from the defense of the United States itself. American security and American interests depend upon the defeat of the Russian war machine.
American presence at Zapad therefore corrodes trust among allies who have not only long relied on American clarity but also stood with the United States when it evoked NATO’s Article 5 after
the terrorist attacks of September 11. It betrays the moral geometry that once distinguished democracy from dictatorship. For Ukrainians, whose soldiers died while standing with the United States at the request of Washington and whose homes are destroyed by Russian missiles and whose children are kidnapped into Russia, the sight of America in Minsk is a bitter shock. For Poles and Romanians, already confronting Russian drones in their skies, it is betrayal. For the Baltic states, who know occupation from their own history, it is abandonment. And for democratic allies across Europe, it is a chilling reminder that the United States under Trump cannot be counted upon to lead the community of free nations, much less act as an ally.
Trump has always admired the very qualities that democracies abhor. He courts the strongman, mocks the ally, and dismantles the institutions that defended peace for generations. Zapad is not improvisation but the logical outcome of his vision. The American people, our NATO partners, and every democratic ally must understand that what is at stake is not only the survival of Ukraine but the credibility of the entire alliance and the security of the United States itself.
If Washington truly intended to fulfill its NATO obligations, its officers would not have been in Belarus. They would have been in Kyiv, delivering the weapons Ukraine requires to end Russia’s assault. They would have been accelerating Ukraine’s capacity to strike deep into the machinery of war that sustains Moscow’s aggression. Only by enabling Ukraine to win decisively can NATO’s eastern frontier be secured, and only by securing that frontier can America defend its own long-term interests. The fate of Ukraine, the safety of our allies, and the security of the United States form one equation. They cannot be separated without inviting catastrophe.
The choice before America is stark. Either it returns to its place among the free nations, reinforcing Ukraine until victory is achieved and building the shield that will deny Russia the skies, or it continues its gallop into the company of regimes whose only currency is blood. The red carpet in Alaska shocked because it inverted the role of America’s soldiers. Zapad horrifies because it codifies this inversion as policy. American patriots, NATO allies, and democratic partners must recognize the peril of America’s forging of a new anti-democratic and dangerous alliance and meet it with unflinching resolve and preparation.