MOSCOW: President Vladimir Putin observed Russia’s biggest war games in years on Monday, watching as his forces successfully repelled an imaginary enemy and launched a tank-led counter offensive, part of an exercise that has rattled the West.
Nato officials say they are monitoring the “Zapad-2017” (“West-2017”) war games with “calm and confidence”, but many are unnerved about what they see as Moscow testing its ability to wage war against the West. Russia says the exercise is rehearsing a purely defensive scenario.
Putin, commander-in-chief of Russia’s armed forces, sat in a command centre flanked by his defence minister and the chief of his General Staff, and used binoculars to peer through a cold drizzle at the simulated conflict unfolding before his eyes.
The Russian leader has appeared at similar events in the past, sometimes donning a military uniform, and uses them to bolster his image among Russians as a robust defender of the country’s interests on the world stage. — Reuters
Oman Observer is now on the WhatsApp channel. Click here
