"The maneuvers, under the name Zapad ("West" in Russian), come amid tensions with NATO countries, after Poland downed Russian drones in its airspace in what Warsaw called an "unprecedented" breach. The drills are taking place from September 12 to 16 and were already scheduled before the drone incident on Wednesday. Ahead of their start, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the excercises, including near the Belarusian-Polish border, were not aimed against any other country."
""The objectives of the drills are to improve the skills of commanders and staffs, the level of co-operation and field training of regional and coalition groupings of troops," Moscow's Defense Ministry said on Telegram. The joint maneuvers involve tens of thousands of soldiers and have taken place every four years since 1977, mainly on Belarusian territory. This year, soldiers are set to train on Russia's new Oreshnik missiles, which can reportedly carry nuclear warheads, among other weapons."
Russia and Belarus launched joint Zapad military exercises from September 12 to 16 near Belarusian territory and the Belarus-Poland border amid heightened tensions with NATO after Poland shot down Russian drones. The drills involve tens of thousands of troops and have occurred every four years since 1977. Moscow stated the exercises were scheduled before the drone incident and are aimed at improving commanders' and staffs' skills, cooperation levels, and field training of regional and coalition groupings. Soldiers will train with new Oreshnik missiles, which reportedly can carry nuclear warheads, among other weapons.
Read at www.dw.com
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