MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Russian President Vladimir Putin will inspect Russian and Belarusian troops involved in the Zapad-2017 joint-military drills in the Leningrad Region on Monday, the Kremlin press service said Sunday.
"On September 18 of this year, Vladimir Putin will arrive in the Leningrad Region. The supreme commander-in-chief will inspect the activities of the armed forces of the Union State of Russia and Belarus during the main stage of the Zapad-2017 joint strategic drills that will take place on Luzhsky range," the press service said in a statement.
The large-scale joint war games involve up to 12,700 servicemen, 70 fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters, 680 ground-based military vehicles and equipment, including about 250 tanks, 200 artillery systems, multiple rocket launchers and mortars, and 10 warships. The exercises, which run through September 20, are taking place both at Belarusian firing ranges and the firing ranges of Russia's Kaliningrad, Leningrad and Pskov Regions.