Zapad 2021 war games end to show how Russia can repel any aggressor

The joint Russia-Belarus military exercises Zapad 2021 have come to an end. The official closing ceremony took place at Mulino training ground in the Nizhny Novgorod region of Russia, the press service of the Russian Ministry of Defense said.

Deputy Defence Minister, Lieutenant General Yunus-Bek Yevkurov, summarised the results of the past war games.

"Zapad 2021 military exercises have shown that we can quickly create powerful interspecific groupings, plan military actions in any direction, suppress any aggression, and reason and sober up any enemy by striking a decisive blow," he said.

The Defense Ministry noted that, in addition to Russian and Belarusian servicemen, representatives of the Armed Forces of Armenia, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Mongolia, as well as a representative of the Sri Lankan delegation took part in the exercises. 

As a result of the events, most distinguished servicemen were decorated with awards from the Russian Ministry of Defense.

Since September 10, about 200,000 troops, over 700 pieces of military hardware and more than 80 aircraft and helicopters have taken part in Zapad 2021 military exercises. The manoeuvres took place at nine training grounds in Russia, in the waters of the Baltic Sea, as well as at five training grounds in Belarus.