Indian troops have participated in the Russian-led Zapad-2025 military drills, Russian state agency TASS said on Tuesday, highlighting Moscow’s close ties with New Delhi, whose growing ties with the United States have been strained by the imposition of hefty tariffs by President Donald Trump.

The Indian Ministry of Defence confirmed that it had sent 65 armed forces personnel to participate in the five-day military exercise, a theatrical demonstration of firepower conducted jointly by Russia and Belarus to test their combat readiness in the event of an invasion.

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The manoeuvres, which featured 100,000 troops in a display of might that included nuclear-capable bombers and warships, took place at a time of heightened tension with NATO countries, coming just days after the downing of Russian drones in Poland last week.

“Today we are conducting the final part of the Zapad 2025 strategic exercise,” said Putin, wearing a military uniform.

India was not the only foreign power involved, with “task forces and military contingents” from Iran, Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Mali also joining in, TASS reported, citing the Kremlin.

But India’s participation, led by a battalion of the highly respected Kumaon Regiment and aimed at strengthening “the spirit of cooperation and mutual trust” with Russia, will have raised eyebrows amid signs that the US may be losing a key ally in Asia, seen as an important counterweight to China.

Strains emerged between the two countries last month after the Trump administration imposed 50 percent tariffs on Indian imports, accusing New Delhi of fuelling Moscow’s deadly attacks on Ukraine with its purchases of Russian oil.

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Earlier this month, Trump seemed to confirm the rift, posting on social media that both India and Russia appeared to have been “lost” to “deepest, darkest China” as the three countries cozied up at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Tianjin.

India-US ties back on track?

But last week, Trump announced on X that India and the US are continuing negotiations to address trade barriers between the two nations. He previously accused India of imposing high tariffs on US goods.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi responded to Trump’s post on X, saying: “India and the US are close friends and natural partners”.

“I am confident that our trade negotiations will pave the way for unlocking the limitless potential of the India-US partnership,” Modi added.

On Tuesday, Modi thanked Trump for wishing him a happy 75th birthday.

“Thank you, my friend, President Trump, for your phone call and warm greetings on my 75th birthday. Like you, I am also fully committed to taking the India-US Comprehensive and Global Partnership to new heights,” he posted on X.

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”.

India’s ties with Russia go back to the erstwhile USSR, which provided extensive help to the Indian economy. Throughout the Cold War, India chose to remain non-aligned, but it sourced most of its weapons from the Soviet Union.

New Delhi still buys most of its defence equipment from Moscow, but over the past two decades, it has attempted to diversify its weapons imports.

Iran-Russia continue strategic alignment

Iran also participated in this year’s Zapad, according to the TASS, though the presence of its troops was not confirmed by official channels.

Tehran is known to be a close strategic partner of Russia, supplying it with self-detonating Shahed drones used in the Ukraine war and, according to Western intelligence sources, ballistic missiles.

This year, the two countries signed a “comprehensive strategic partnership treaty”, deepening their relationship on military and other fronts.

Tehran and Moscow launched a joint military drill in the Caspian Sea after Israel launched bombings of Iran, leading to 12 days of war. The US also joined the war after targeting an Iranian nuclear site with bunker buster bombs.

On Tuesday, the US confirmed that its military officials observed the military drills the previous day after accepting an invitation to the event.

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The US presence on the sidelines comes as it tries to wrestle Russia into bringing its war in Ukraine to an end, while seeking closer ties with Belarus.