Russia, Belarus begin large-scale joint drills

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko (C) inspects the joint strategic exercise "Zapad-2021" by Russian and Belarusian armed forces at a training ground in Belarus on Sept. 12, 2021. Russian and Belarusian armed forces kicked off their joint strategic exercise "Zapad-2021" on Sept. 9. The drills were held at nine training grounds in Russia, the Baltic Sea, and at five training grounds in Belarus. (Xinhua)