As expected, Moscow practiced during Zapad-2017 a regular armed conflict against the West
with the use of nuclear weapons.
The true scale of the maneuvers in terms of the number of troops and the geographical
scope, went beyond the officially designated framework.
According to the Russians, the drills appeared to be very successful.
They managed to show that the army modernisation is advancing at a fairly high rate and, in
order to achieve so, Russia uses its military experience gained in Syria and Ukraine.
In comparison to the previous exercises, a level of command has been increased; also
coordination between army and local authorities has been improved and new types of weaponry
have been tested.
As for the political aspect of the exercises, some new accents in the Russian policy towards
Belarus may be distinguished and they can be potentially dangerous, especially for the
latter - is written in special report "Zapad 2017 Lessons Learned" prepared by Warsaw Institute.
There is no doubt in this regard, especially after the analysis of the last day of the
maneuvers.
On September 20, the greatest intensification of the Russian soldiers' activities could
be observed on the "widest battlefield possible" stretching from the Barents Sea to the Black
Sea.
It could possibly be a simulation of a full armed conflict between Russia and NATO, especially
if Moscow trained a nuclear attack with the use of all the elements (so-called nuclear
triad).
At the Plesetsk proving ground, a Russian armed intercontinental ballistic missile RS-24
Years was launched and two strategic bombers Tu-22M3 flew over the Baltic Sea and the Norwegian
Sea; in addition, the Russian submarine Dmitriy Donskoi made an electronic launch of an international
ballistic missile from the sea level.
During the first stage of the maneuvers, the Russians practised the repelling back of massive
air attack with the use of conventional means, which confirms the fact that their "opponent"
was not a diversionary group of separatists but NATO.
The key role was played by the Russian aviation and the air defence of the 6th Army of Air
and Air Defence Forces in the Western Military District.
Its units employed the A2/AD (anti-access/area-denial) method by moving air defence systems to the
West.
At the same time, the Russians launched a sea component of A2/AD, the Baltic Fleet unit
in Kaliningrad Oblast.
The missile tests were conducted simultaneously in northern part of the country as well as
in the Laptev Sea and the Barents Sea.
They were attended by the Bastion and Rubezh coastal defence missile systems as well as
the vessels of the North Fleet.
While using the A2/D2 systems, it was important to mobilise the tactical ballistic missile
launchers Iskander-M.
Russia's Defence Ministry has informed about a successful test of weapons of increased
range for the Iskander-M launchers.
The missile was lifted off from Kapustin Yar test range (Astrakhan Oblast), it travelled
480 kilometres and hit the target located on the proving ground in Makat, Kazakhstan.
In fact, it concerned a cruise missile system Iskander-K, which may have a range of more
than 2,000 kilometres.
During the maneuvers, the Russians had at their disposal all sorts of the missile and
artillery assets such as Tunguska anti-aircraft system, Pantry S-1 system, Tochka-U missile
system, Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) and BM-21 Grad, self-propelled howitzers (Msta
and Akatsiya) as well as self-propelled artillery (Pion).
As for the aviation, it was represented by the Su-24 bombers and various types of attack
helicopters, namely Mi-24, Mi-28 and Ka-52.
The maneuvers constituted an opportunity to present and test new types of weaponry.
Moreover, the Russian took advantage of testing T-72B3 tanks on such a massive scale.
In February this year, the first batch of twenty upgraded tanks was introduced within
the Western Military District.
The production of the most recent version of T-72 tanks started last year.
Also such types of tanks as T-90M and T80BWM as well as BMPT armoured fighting vehicles
appeared in the Russian army.
As for the Belarusians, they could boast of the V1 light armoured vehicle, Caiman armoured
vehicle and an upgraded T-72BM3 tank.
They also tested a system based on reservists of so-called "territorial defence forces".
Also sudden call-up to service for the duration of the exercise appeared to be absolutely
top secret.
It is known that it took place in Kaliningrad Oblast and Pskov Oblast.
In April this year, Vladimir Putin signed a decree on call-up of reservists.
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