Russia to FINALLY invade the Baltic states under operation "Zapad" ???

Well I live in Estonia and we have beef with Russia daily. Not really between the people so much but rather between the governments of the two countries.
Anyway I wouldn't be surprised if thats how it went down.

Between Sept. 14-20, the Russian armed forces will conduct a major exercise, ZAPAD 2017. Employing forces from various Russian commands, the exercise will test the military's ability to conduct a combined arms offensive. That's exactly the kind of operation Russia would use to invade Europe.

While there's nothing new in the Russians carrying out a military exercise, this situation is different due to the scale and location of the forces involved. Russia claims under 10,000 personnel will be involved but as many as 100,000 Russian soldiers are actually expected to deploy. Their number will include armored and artillery units, and strike fighter aircraft. As interesting, instead of training in Russia, the forces will conduct their exercises in Belarus.

That geographic choice is designed to send a specific message to NATO.

After all, bordering NATO member Poland, Belarus offers ZAPAD forces the means to rapidly strike into the heart of NATO. Joining that threat is the Russian fortress-oblast of Kaliningrad, where reservists have been called up.


That said, Poland isn't the only NATO state threatened by ZAPAD; the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania face even greater vulnerability. For a start, Putin has long believed those nations are destined to be feudal states of a new Russian empire. And again, the matching of ZAPAD forces in Belarus to Kaliningrad proves the danger.



[link to www.washingtonexaminer.com]