Zapad 2021

"[3] On September 1, the stage planned by the General Staff to enhance the country's defense capability was completed: a reserve army of 38,000 combat troops was established in the Southern Military District.

The defending units were supported by 12 divisions (140 guns) of modernized self-propelled howitzers "Msta-S" (providing the so-called "Fire Shaft").

[citation needed] T-72B3 tanks, equipped with additional dynamic protection and anti-mine trawls, along with the Terminator BMPT, played a significant role in the ground force offensive.

For the first time, engineering, surveillance, and strike robots played a significant role in the combat training of troops, alongside tanks and other ground and aviation equipment.

[9][10] For the first time, reconnaissance and strike UAVs were extensively deployed for operational purposes, providing cover for the maneuvering actions of defending units.

Helicopters, including variously modified Mi-8s, reconnaissance and strike Mi-28 "Night Hunter," attack Ka-52 "Alligator," and Mi-35s, operated at the forefront of the counteroffensive.

[11] International media and observers concluded that the activity represented training in preparation for a conflict with other European, probably NATO-aligned countries; the "fictional" enemies of the Russian and Belarussian units included forces from "Neris (a Lithuanian river), Pomoria and Polar Republic", which according to the exercise fomented domestic unrest in Belarus and then proceeded to invade it, leading to a Belarussian-Russian counterattack.

[16] Milley held a meeting with Chief of General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, Valery Gerasimov, in Finland, on September 22, 2021, to de-escalate tensions in Europe.