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Zapad 2013 war games simulating elimination of paramilitary units

At least 180 units of combat equipment including ten tanks, nearly 40 aircraft and up to ten Baltic Fleet ships are engaged in the war games
Photo ITAR-TASS
Photo ITAR-TASS

MOSCOW, September 22 (Itar-Tass) - Russian and Belarusian joint military exercise Zapad 2013 under the command of the two countries’ defence ministers has moved over to an operation, as part of which the forces engaged in it will search and eliminate illegal armed groupings. The war games will last till September 26.

At least 500 servicemen from Russia's famous Taman mechanized infantry division started moving to the Brest field training range on a scenario of protecting some sections of the state border of the Union State of Russia and Belarus, in order not to deny the enemy an opporunity to cross it, the Russian Defence Ministry press service said on Sunday.

While performing the task of protection of the border, Russian military units completed a many-kilometre-long march to the exercise area and began carrying out their duty at the checkpoints, as well as guarding the major facilities.

Servicemen of a mechanized infantry unit of the Western Military District stationed in the Nizhny Novgorod region are doing reconnaissance in the area of the Gozhsky range where an armed grouping was ostensibly spotted.

Ambushes are set up for detecting groups of terrorists along their possible routes of advance.

Later, military units of Russia and Belarus are expected to perform a series of drills including live fire.

The last leg of Zapad 2013 will take place at the Khmelevka field training range in the Kaliningrad region where Russian and Belarussian military units will conduct inter-branch training of the regional group of troops and the Russian Navy.

A combined force of 9,200 Russian servicemen and over 200 Belarusian servicemen is participating in the war games in Russia’s territory. Also 2,520 Russians will take part in the programme at the Belarusian field training ranges.

At least 180 units of combat equipment including ten tanks, nearly 40 aircraft and up to ten Baltic Fleet ships are engaged in the war games