Russia may claim there is a threat to the security of the Russian-speaking population to justify armed aggression against Ukraine and NATO Allies during the upcoming Russian-Belarusian exercise Zapad 2017, according to Chief of the General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces Gen. Viktor Muzhenko.
“The actual scale of the preparations for Zapad 2017 exercise, its timing, the extent of involvement of military command and control agencies and troops (forces), primarily Russian, as well as other interrelated efforts, indicate that the drill’s true aim, goals and objectives go far beyond those officially promulgated, which are only part of and provide a cover-up for the actual plans,” the press service of the Armed Forces quoted Gen. Muzhenko as saying.
