Opinions & Interviews

OSIPOVICHI, 19 September (BelTA) - Belarus has ensured open access for mass media at the Belarusian-Russian strategic army exercise Zapad 2017, Canadian journalist Raymond Saint Pierre, who took part in the coverage of the second stage of the army exercise on the Osipovichsky area, told BelTA.

The Canadian journalist said that he has already spent three days in Belarus and this is his second army exercise. He took note of a big area for tactical activities and a great number of military hardware.

He praised the Belarusians for inviting many international observers and mass media representatives. He added that every stage of the exercise is held in an open and transparent format. Journalists have an opportunity to make reports on the ongoing exercise and also talk to officers and servicemen.

Taking part in covering the army exercise on the Osipovichsky range are more than 50 journalists, including 30 foreign correspondents.

The Belarusian-Russian strategic army exercise Zapad 2017 began on 14 September to end on 20 September under the supervision of the chiefs of the general staffs of the Belarusian and Russian armies. In Belarus the regular army exercise areas Lepelsky, Borisovsky, Losvido, Osipovichsky, and the Air Force exercise areas Ruzhansky and Domanovo are used for the exercise in addition to two regular sectors of terrain in Vitebsk Oblast — Dretun and Glubokoye. In Russia the army exercise areas Luzhsky, Strugi Krasnyye, and Pravdinsky in Kaliningrad Oblast, Leningrad Oblast, and Pskov Oblast are used for the exercise.

Some 12,700 military personnel are taking part in the Belarusian-Russian strategic army exercise Zapad 2017. About 10,200 personnel have been deployed in Belarus, with Belarus contributing slightly more than 7,000 people and Russia supplying about 3,000 troops. The Belarusian part of the exercise also involves 370 armored vehicles, including about 140 combat tanks. Up to 150 artillery units and multiple-launch rocket systems, over 40 aircraft and helicopters have been deployed as well.