MINSK: A separatist republic invented by the Russian and Belarusian militaries to serve as a fictitious foe in upcoming war games has sparked a wave of tongue-in-cheek support online and citizenship applications.
Minsk said the joint Zapad-2017 drills will role play a conflict with a made-up rebel region called Veishnoria, supposedly located in western Belarus and backed by neighbouring European nations.
The major exercises, scheduled for Sept 14-20, have set nerves jangling among Nato members in Eastern Europe, jolted by fears of an increasingly aggressive Russia.
But in Belarus the reaction to the make-believe insurgent region has been more one of …read more
Source: theSun