Russian troops during Zapad 2017<\/p>\n
What follows is a prime example of modern Western propaganda, which like so much propaganda nowadays presents itself in the guise of \u2018balanced\u2019 commentary.<\/p>\n
However, careful scrutiny reveals that the journalistic \u2018balance\u2019 is a calculated illusion intended to deceive the unwitting.<\/p>\n
For example it claims that Russia\u2019s Zapad 2025 military drills are taking place on \u201cNATO\u2019s doorstep\u201d. When the drills are in fact taking place in Belarus, a strategic ally and nieghbour of Russia.<\/p>\n
The only reason that they are taking place on \u201cNATO\u2019s doorstep\u201d is because over the past few decades the Western military alliance has steadily advanced its doorstep further eastwards; with new members states now including Poland (joined 1999), Latvia (joined 2004) and Lithuania (joined 2004) all bordering Belarus.<\/p>\n
So while it’s true that Zapad 2025 is taking place \u201con NATO\u2019s doorstep\u201d, that\u2019s only because the Western military alliance has been methodically advancing east, toward Russia.<\/p>\n
Indeed, one might even say that the Zapad 2025 drills were staged in response to NATO\u2019s steady encroachment on Russia\u2019s borders. Certainly that’s how it might be seen by an observer in Moscow.<\/p>\n
Yet, with the help of a few compliant journalists it can easily be portrayed as the West’s political elite dictate.<\/p>\n
What follows is an example of what this process produces. Ed.<\/p>\n
On NATO’s doorstep, Russia is rehearsing for war.<\/p>\n
It has deployed tanks, battleships and supersonic bombers for military drills with Belarus that are happening on land, at sea and in the air.<\/p>\n
‘Zapad-2025′ are the allies’ first joint exercises since the invasion of Ukraine, and on Sunday involved the launch of a hypersonic missile in the Barents Sea.<\/p>\n
“There are several strategic goals here that [Russia and Belarus] want to achieve,” Hanna Liubakova, an independent Belarusian journalist, told Sky News.<\/p>\n
“Scare, show that they are capable, show that they can threaten\u2026 and of course, they’re also checking what the reaction and response could be.”<\/p>\n
The reaction so far has been frosty, to say the least.<\/p>\n
Ahead of the drills<\/a><\/strong>, Poland closed its border with Belarus and deployed more than 30,000 troops as part of its own military exercises.<\/p>\n Lithuania is also holding drills and said it would bolster defences along its frontiers with Russia<\/a><\/strong> and Belarus.<\/p>\n The authorities in Minsk, and in Moscow, insist the drills are defensive and not aimed at any other country.<\/p>\n On Friday, the Kremlin even described Europe’s concerns as “emotional overload”.<\/p>\n But the last time these drills happened four years ago, it led to a massive build-up of Russian troops in Belarus, which Moscow then used for part of its invasion of Ukraine a few months later.<\/p>\n And the drills aren’t the only thing Europe is worried about.<\/p>\n The show of strength comes at a time of heightened tension after recent Russian drone incursions into NATO<\/a><\/strong> airspace – first in Poland and then Romania<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n There’s a feeling in the West that the drones and drills are a test of NATO’s defences and Western resolve.<\/p>\n But you’re unlikely to find that opinion on the streets of the Belarusian capital, Minsk.<\/p>\n “There is no aggression,” Mikhail told Sky News. “Exercises are normal, especially planned ones. So I think it’s fine.”<\/p>\n According to Kristina, Russia and Belarus are “not the aggressors”.<\/p>\n “I think our head of state [Alexander Lukashenko] will solve this issue and we will support him. He’s not aggravating the situation.”<\/p>\n A provocation or not, the drills offer NATO a fresh chance to scrutinise Russia’s military, after three-and-a-half years of costly combat in Ukraine.<\/p>\n It would feel a lot more comfortable, though, if they weren’t happening so close to home.<\/p>\n