⇒ Exercise ZAPAD 2021, a Multi-Nation exercise was held at Nizhniy, Russia from 03 to 16 September 2021.
Participation:
Over a dozen countries from Eurasian and South Asian Region participated in the exercise.
17 countries were invited by Russia for the exercise:
As Participating Countries:
Mongolia, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Serbia, Russia, India and Belarus
Other eight countries as Observers:
Pakistan, China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Uzbekistan and Sri Lanka
Indian Contingent:
A 200 personnel contingent of Indian Army participated in Exercise ZAPAD 2021. India’s NAGA Battalion Group participated in the exercise.
- ZAPAD 2021 is one of the theatre level exercises of Russian Armed Forces. It was focused primarily on operations against terrorists.
The Exercise ZAPAD 2021 commenced on 04th September 2021, with an aim to train troops to undertake joint operations in conventional battlefield scenario.
Opening ceremony:
The opening ceremony was conducted in Mulino Training Ground near Nizhniy in Novgograd region, Russia on 09 September 2021.
As part of the Exercise:
» Important lectures, drills and demonstrations related to both Counter Terrorism and Conventional operations was conducted.
» Strategic planning, tactical actions and manoeuvres were rehearsed and executed jointly in conventional operational scenarios.
» The Joint Strategic Exercise included defensive & offensive manoeuvres by the Coalition Forces to restore territorial integrity under simulated combat conditions.
» New generation weapon systems and equipment were also demonstrated by Russian Armed Forces during the exercise.
- The Armies of all participating nations also shared their valuable experiences in varied theatres as also refined their drills and procedures for joint operations.
Closing Ceremony:
Exercise ZAPAD-2021, a seven-day long Multilateral ‘Joint Strategic Exercise’ which saw participation from seven countries culminated on 15 September 2021 at Mulino in the Novgorod Region of Russia.