The United States will be closely monitoring an upcoming major Russian military exercise this summer, says Secretary of Defense James Mattis. This includes the possibility of repositioning key military hardware to the area as a countermeasure to the Russians—if requested by NATO allies.
The Russian exercise, called “Zapad,” occurs every four years and will reportedly include up to 100,000 Russian soldiers. It has its roots in the former Soviet Union, where Soviet forces drilled under the pretense of a fictional invasion of Belarus by NATO forces. The training event was also a chance to showcase new military hardware and test those systems for the world to see. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Russian military was unable to mount a similar training exercise until 2013, when it displayed the reinvigorated might of the Russian military that would soon see action in Crimea, Ukraine, and Syria.
This year’s version of Zapad, to commence in August and September, will once again occur in Belarus and the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad, prompting leadership in the Baltic nations to request more NATO military assistance in the face of tens of thousands of Russians drilling close to their borders. The Baltic states live more or less under continuous fear of a Russian incursion or other subversive activities initiated by the Kremlin to increase Russian influence in their countries, particularly after Russia’s successful annexation of Crimea and less-than-covert actions in Ukraine brought sanctions and international condemnation, but little else.
“We see that risks are increasing, and we are worried about the upcoming ‘Zapad 2017’ exercise, which will deploy a very large and aggressive force (on our borders) that will very demonstrably be preparing for a war with the West,” said Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite. “This means that we will be talking with NATO about creating additional standing defense plans, about stationing additional military means, and about creating a faster decision-making process,” she said.
Russia has said it considers the repositioning of NATO forces into the Baltic states to be a threat to its own security. Some defense officials believe the Russians will be using the opportunity to permanently upgrade their short-range Iskander missile systems in Kaliningrad, missiles with a range of about 100 miles that can be armed with a nuclear warhead. That has prompted worry among neighboring nations, who are now considering upping their missile defense systems, or asking the United States to forward-deploy anti-missile technology of its own.
Secretary of Defense Mattis, speaking to reporters during a visit to Lithuania this week, said “We will deploy whatever capability is necessary here,” but also added that the military drill is of no concern, and “routine.”
Image courtesy of RT
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Oh yes, you can be sure intel will be closely watching from all directions! Zapads have traditionally been used to test new weapon systems, so you never know what surprises might be in store, I hope they come with some of those failures you mention! Ha! Still it's sort of worrisome, who could trust Russia with 100,000 soldiers, scads of equipment, those Iskander missiles they're deploying "just for the drills" of course ( the Kremlin is known for it's truthfulness, right? LOL), hope they aren't tempted to try to overrun something in the Baltics. Even Mattis, when he said this Russian exercise is routine, added he hopes "it stays routine." Don't we all! Thanks, Ranger Baggins
Agreed, Mattis is a boss. I am curious about the intel operations that will no doubt be monitoring the Zapad 2017 drills. It would be interesting to see how much work is needed given the fact that the Ruskies will probably be producing enough OSINT in hopes of flexing nuts for the West. Most likely, our IC will be hoping to peer behind the bravado to assess capabilities, but it would be awesome if we were able to publish factual reports about failed equipment, maneuvers, etc.
Considering Putin's aggressive past actions toward his neighbors, who can blame the Lithuanian President for being nervous about having 100,000 Russian troops near her border. Lithuania is like a mouse sitting next to a stalking, pouncing cat who smiles and says, "I'm just practicing!" I just love Mattis though, not only does he give a calming statement that he's not the least bit worried about the routine Russian drills, but he reassures the Lithuanians of our support, "We will deploy whatever capability is necessary here." He's the man! Thanks, Travis