West-2017 military exercise has a broader context than the claimed maneuvers in Belarus. The drills are aimed at preparing the Russian military for an offensive, and pose threat to both NATO and post-Soviet countries, according to Chief of the General Staff, Commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Viktor Muzhenko, as the press service of the Ministry of Defense informs.
“We are looking at various scenarios of the adversary’s actions, including an offensive,” Muzhenko noted.
According to Ukraine’s Commander-in-chief, the activity planned for West-2017 and the composition of troops could enable Russia to start an offensive in both South-Western and Western directions, and create conditions for supporting it during a considerable period of time.
“It objectively creates a threat of large-scale military aggression of Russia against both Ukraine and NATO countries. The cause of the aggression commencement, despite the unpredictability of the Russian military and political heads, could be, for example, massive provocations in Eastern regions of Ukraine and Baltic countries, as to infringement of rights and liberties, and threat to security of Russian-speaking citizens,” he explained.
Muzhenko added that the overall number of participants of the drills can estimate up to 240,000 military.
