West 2017 strategic exercises start in Russia and Belarus

Baku. 14 September. REPORT.AZ/ The Zapad 2017 (West 2017) joint Russian-Belarusian military drills have kicked off in the two countries, Report informs citing the TASS.

The drills involve up to 12,700 troops, including 7,200 Belarusian and around 5,500 Russian troops.

Staged tactical events and live firing exercises, involving aircraft and air defense units, will take place at the Lepelsky, Losvido, Borisovsky, Osipovichesky, Ruzhansky and Domanovsky training ranges, as well as in the Dretun area in Belarus, and also at the Luzhsky, Strugi Krasnye and Pravdinsky training ranges in Russia.

The Russian defense ministry has been repeatedly stressing that the Zapad-2017 drills have purely defensive character and media allegations about the "Russian threat" these drills are posing have nothing to do with the real state of things.