{"id":35437,"date":"2017-09-14T14:20:19","date_gmt":"2017-09-14T14:20:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2017\/09\/14\/russia-launches-much-hyped-zapad-exercises-in-belarus\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T22:52:16","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T22:52:16","slug":"russia-launches-much-hyped-zapad-exercises-in-belarus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/training-sim\/2017\/09\/14\/russia-launches-much-hyped-zapad-exercises-in-belarus\/","title":{"rendered":"Russia launches much-hyped Zapad exercises in Belarus"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

MOSCOW \u2015 The wait is finally over. Zapad 2017, a Russian-led strategic military exercise that has been the focus of Western anticipation and outright hysteria for months now, kicked off Thursday in Belarus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the next week, all eyes will be cast just over NATO\u2019s Eastern flank; Zapad will tell us much about the status of Russian military modernization and reform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But key insights will likely have to wait until the second phase of the exercise, set to begin Sept. 17. For the next three days, Russia and its ally Belarus will focus on logistical tasks \u2015 such as mobilizing for combat. Once mobilized, the combined force of some 10,000 declared troops (of which only 3,000 are Russian) will begin to wrestle with a brewing insurgency in Belarus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is, of course, no real insurgency in Belarus, though Zapad is in itself meant to ensure that fact remains true. The combined force will be tasked with pacifying a pro-Western separatist movement with the fictional name of Veishnoria. It is a trial run against one of Russia\u2019s greatest fears: a repeat of the 2014 Ukrainian maidan movement in Belarus, its last Western buffer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n