In an intelligence report on Monday, Britain’s Ministry of Defence said Russia had likely cancelled its landmark Zapad drills. The military exercises that simulate a conflict with NATO and are held near the borders of the Baltic states and Poland were due to take place in September.
“Russia has highly likely cancelled Exercise ZAPAD (‘West’) 23, its planned ‘joint strategic exercise’ (JSE) and major annual event intended to be the culmination of the military’s training year," the report said.
“The Russian military’s under-performance in Ukraine has highlighted how JSEs have had limited training value and have largely been for show. Russia has likely cancelled ZAPAD 23 because too few troops and equipment are available,” it added.
Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine – 28 August 2023
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The drills may have also been cancelled due to criticism from the domestic audience in the context of the war in Ukraine.
The biannual drills are aimed at simulating a potential conflict with NATO and are held together with Belarus. In previous Zapad drills, Belarusian and Russian units practised attacking Lithuania and Poland.
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