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Ukraine and US prepare drills as Zapad ends
Summary
A look back at the military exercises announced in western Ukraine and Russia's robotic vehicle display in the days before 20 September 2021.
What did the military calendar around Ukraine look like on 20 September 2021? Two sets of exercises, on opposite sides of the region's borders, framed the day.
On 17 September 2021, Ukraine and the United States announced that they would begin joint military exercises in western Ukraine the following week. The drills were to involve 15 other countries.
Two days earlier, on 15 September 2021, Russia had demonstrated unmanned ground vehicles in combat formations during the weeklong Zapad exercises held jointly with Belarus. Two machines were shown. The Uran-9 is a tracked vehicle armed with a 30 mm autocannon, a machine gun, anti-tank missiles and a flamethrower. The Nerekhta carries a mounted machine gun and a grenade launcher, and also has cargo capacity.
The two sets of reports described separate events: a multinational exercise announced for western Ukraine, and a Russian-Belarusian exercise in which uncrewed combat vehicles featured.
