Russia's largest military exercise since the end of the Cold War, Zapad (West) 2017, has started on Thursday amid concerns from the West. The drill, which is conducted with Russia's neighbour Belarus, involves no more than 12.000 soldiers according to the Kremlin. NATO and its allies claim the number of soldiers used could range up to an eightfold of that. The drills will mainly take place in Belarus, with one conducted in Kaliningrad, Russia's enclave on the Baltic Sea.

Zapad is held every 4 years, but this year the concern among NATO and its allies is greater than before in light of the annexation of the Crimea in 2014. The large build-up of troops along vulnerable NATO borders of Lithuania and Latvia is also a source of worry, as these countries can be cut off from the other through by blocking the "Suwalki Gap" - a border strip separating Kaliningrad from Belarus.

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