Today Russia and Belarus started joint strategic exercise called «Zapad-2017«. They will last a week – from 14 to 20 September, and their purpose is to prepare to fight with conventional terrorists.
The press service of the Ministry of defense of Russia said that the exercises attracted about 12.7 thousand troops, 70 aircraft and helicopters, up to 680 pieces of equipment, including about 250 tanks, 200 guns, rocket systems of volley fire and mortars, as well as 10 ships.
As reported the press service of the Ministry, the intent doctrine provides that on the territory of Belarus and Kaliningrad region of the Russian Federation infiltrated the extremist groups aimed at conducting terrorist attacks and destabilizing the situation. «The extremists have external support, receiving logistical support, weapons and military equipment from the air and sea,» – said in a statement.
The Zapad military exercises begin tomorrow (Sept. 14). A list of NATO vs. Russia military exercises in the last 2 years: pic.twitter.com/vgUWSepoNI
— RFE/RL (@RFERL) December 13, 2017
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg stated that Russia has every right to conduct military exercises, but Moscow used «loopholes» to avoid scrutiny.
«We have already seen how large Russia is using military exercises as a disguise, Stoltenberg said in an interview with British television on Sunday. – It happened in 2008 when they invaded Georgia, and it happened in Crimea in 2014, when they illegally annexed the Crimea.»
Exercises can also be another attempt of the President of Russia Vladimir Putin to showcase military might of their country. Because the teachings started just after Moscow intervened in the civil war in Syria to bolster the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.
The Russian Embassy in Washington said that to achieve «maximum transparency» Moscow», invited the representatives of foreign ministries and military-diplomatic corps to attend the final stage of learning.»
«We must always remember that the Russians have a nasty habit to hide their actual intentions behind the exercise» – said the Deputy Minister of defence of Estonia has Brick at the July conference in Washington.
Persha tankova army #Russia panata for trevos within navcan «West 2017» https://t.co/f1rlOomEvZ pic.twitter.com/ZEKQbaqAQ9
— Oleksiy Butts ?? (@OleksijObukhov) September 14, 2017
As it became known, the teachings of the «West» – the largest Russian military exercises nearly four years. In 2014, Moscow said that about 22 000 servicemen took part in the exercises «West»; external observers have a figure closer to 70 thousand participants.
We will remind, in June the U.S. armed forces conducted training exercises with allies from the Baltic countries, which were attended by B-1 bombers and B-52 and 50 naval ships. In July in Lithuania for military exercises was deployed anti-aircraft missile system of the USA. In the same month 25 thousand soldiers from 17 countries took part in the training exercise of NATO in the Black sea, which was controlled by the Russian military.
