Russia 'cancels major military event as not enough troops available'
British intelligence suggests Russia has "highly likely" cancelled a planned joint strategic exercise which is usually a major annual event.
Exercise ZAPAD (West) 23 was set to be the culmination of the military's training year and would have taken place next month.
Russia has rotated joint strategic exercises around the country on a four-year cycle since 2010, but the British Ministry of Defence said Moscow has more recently based them in the west at least every second year.
The British MoD said this was to prioritise "confronting what it perceives as the threat from NATO".
"The Russian military's under-performance in Ukraine has highlighted how JSEs [joint strategic exercises] have had limited training value and have largely been for show. Russia has likely cancelled ZAPAD 23 because too few troops and equipment are available," the MoD said.
"There is a realistic possibility that the Russian leadership is also sensitive to domestic criticism liable from running another slickly presented JSE during wartime."
ZAPAD 2021
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