Posted on 09/09/2021 11:10:49 AM PDT by RomanSoldier19
Russia and Belarus formally opened vast joint military drills on Thursday, a week-long exercise across the territory of both countries and in the Baltic Sea that has alarmed some NATO countries.
Top military leaders from the two countries attended the opening ceremony of the war games, called "Zapad-2021", in western Russia where flags were raised and speeches given.
The active part of the exercise, which comes at a time of heightened tensions between the West and Belarus due to a crackdown on the opposition there, begins on Friday and will run until Sept. 16.
The Russian defence ministry said up to 200,000 military personnel, some 80 aircraft and helicopters, up to 15 ships and nearly 300 tanks would take part.
The drills will involve live fire and mark the culmination of a bigger three-month exercise.
NATO officials have warned that the drills, which follow a huge Russian military buildup on Ukraine's borders earlier this year, increase the risk of an accident or miscalculation that could touch off a crisis.
Russian Deputy Defence Minister Nikolai Pankov said the drills were purely defensive in nature and would give Moscow and Minsk a chance to improve the way their respective militaries work together.
Analysts say Minsk's involvement highlights increasingly close ties between it and Moscow.
The Kremlin has proved a vital ally for Belarus after the West imposed sanctions on Minsk over a violent crackdown that followed a contested election which gave President Alexander Lukashenko his sixth term in office.
(Excerpt) Read more at usnews.com ...
More so now than ever. Y'all only have to survive a little over 3 more years, Europe. Good luck with that.
What wonders Joseph Stolen hath wrought.
Trump was right, what's the point of NATO if they voluntarily make themselves dependent on the nation they are supposedly collectively defending against?
When was the last time NATO took any action about anything?
Large troop movements in Poland with half of a mechanized division being moved east from Szczecin. The Polish Army publicly states these are exercises, but who knows.
NATO shouldn’t even exist anymore
2001-2021 in Afghanistan.
Belarus, Belarus can you do the fandango?!
“NATO officials have warned that the drills, which follow a huge Russian military buildup on Ukraine’s borders earlier this year, increase the risk of an accident or miscalculation that could touch off a crisis.”
But moving NATO right up to the Russian border and swarming at the 12 mile limit doesn’t?
#BidenEffect
And for extra credit, explain why they are collectively defending against Russia when the current Russian military is literally 10% of it’s size in 1989?
What is there to “defend” against?
“When was the last time NATO took any action about anything?”
Well, they assisted Al Qeida in attacking Libya. And they went into action in Syria to protect ISIS from the Syrian Army.
Neither Russia nor the USSR has ever shut off gas as leverage to Europe. They have shut off gas to Ukraine when the jerks refused to pay for it, but that’s it. Any suggestion that they might is purely speculation.
Amen. It should have been dissolved when the Warsaw Pact was.
Additionally, no one has suggested that Russia wants to invade Europe. That’s besides NATO, or course.
*of course
Of course it is. Anyone other than Putin or a Russian general who says what Russia would do in a conflict with Europe is speculating. But Russia would be stupid to keep the natural gas flowing to Europe if it came to a war between them and NATO.
Exactly. That’s kind of the point. If there is ever a war between Russia and NATO it is overwhelmingly likely that NATO will be the aggressor. The interdependency created by the pipeline will serve to ensure that NATO’s aggressive tendencies will be tempered.
"According to Globalfirepower.com, Russia’s 12,000-strong fleet of tanks is twice that of the U.S. 6,000 tanks, raising an interesting question about the prospects of a lengthy ground war."
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