MOSCOW. Sept 7 (Interfax) - Military contingents from seven countries have arrived in the Nizhny Novgorod region for the Zapad-2021 Russian-Belarusian strategic exercise, the Russian Western Military District press service said in a statement.
"About 500 servicemen from Armenia, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Pakistan and Sri Lanka have arrived in an autonomous field camp of the Western Military District's combat training center by military transport aircraft of the Russian Aerospace Forces," the statement said.
The foreign servicemen will be familiarized with exercise venues and will adjust fire of weapons and military hardware, including T-72B3 tanks, BMP-2 infantry combat vehicles, AK-74M rifles, RPG-7V grenade launchers and PKM machineguns.
The joint training of the foreign military contingents preparing for the active stage of the Zapad-2021 exercise began on September 6. The servicemen are practicing interaction and use of weapons provided locally within the framework of tactical battalion groups including Russian servicemen, the statement said.
The strategic exercise will be held at five ranges in Belarus and nine ranges in Russia between September 9 and 15.
The exercise opening ceremony will take place at the Mulino range in Russia's Nizhny Novgorod region and the Obuz-Lesnovsky range in the Brest region of Belarus on September 9.
About 200,000 troops, over 80 planes and helicopters, and up to 760 pieces of military hardware, including more than 290 tanks, over 240 cannons, rocket launchers and mortars, and up to 15 ships, will be participating in the exercise. Out of those numbers, 12,800 troops (among them up to 2,500 Russian servicemen), over 30 planes and helicopters and up to 350 pieces of military hardware will be engaged in the games in the Belarusian territory.
The exercise will also involve about 2,000 troops from member states of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), as well as some other countries.