Russia's recent military exercise Zapad was neither an "anti-terror exercise" nor "purely defensive," as Moscow described it at the time, but a "dry run" for a "full-scale conventional war against NATO in Europe," according to the German daily Bild.
Citing two analysts as sources, the newspaper said the September exercise included troops, artillery, tanks, missile attacks and naval and air force raids.
The two-day drill rehearsed the capture of the Baltic states and Belarus as well as a "shock campaign" against NATO nations such as Germany, the Netherlands, Poland and Norway, as well as the non-aligned states of Sweden and Finland.
As part of the exercise, Kremlin forces rehearsed "neutralizing or taking under control air fields and harbors in the Baltic states, so that no reinforcements could arrive from other NATO states there," according to Bild.
The sources also revealed that the Russian Air Force conducted simulation flights over the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, as well as exercising bombings of Western European targets.
In the extensive exercise, the bombers rehearsed launching missiles and cruise missiles with the intention of targeting critical infrastructure "in order to shock the countries and make the populations demand from their governments that 'we shouldn't be involved here, we should go for peace instead, '" the sources said.
At the time of the exercise, Russian President Vladimir Putin said it was for anti-terror purposes and completely defensive in nature.
The Sun reported, however, that General Petr Pavel, head of NATO's military committee, warned about Russia's intentions.
Although Pavel said that the exercise taken in isolation is not a great concern, "when we look it in the big picture, we have to be worried, because Russia was not transparent . . . All together, what we see is a serious preparation for big war."
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.