Why in the News?

An Indian Armed Forces contingent has departed for Mulino Training Ground, Nizhniy, Russia, to participate in Exercise ZAPAD 2025.

About Exercise ZAPAD:

Meaning: “ZAPAD” means West in Russian; a series of large-scale joint strategic military drills led by Russia and Belarus.
Origins: Started during the Soviet era with Zapad-77, Zapad-81, Zapad-84, reflecting Cold War dynamics.
Post-Soviet Revival: Resumed with Zapad-99 (1999), partly as a response to NATO’s Yugoslavia operations.
Frequency: Held about once every 4 years, with major editions in 2009, 2013, 2017, 2021, and 2025.
Series Context: Forms part of Russia’s rotating operational drills along with Vostok (East), Tsentr (Central), and Kavkaz (Caucasus).
Scale: Zapad-2021 involved ~200,000 personnel from 17 countries, one of the largest recent drills.

Deterrence: Sends a strategic message to NATO about Russian readiness.
Allied Assurance: Reassures Russia’s partners and allies of its military strength.

[UPSC 2024] Which of the following statements about ‘Exercise Mitra Shakti-2023’ are correct?

1. This was a joint military exercise between India and Bangladesh.

2. It commenced in Aundh (Pune).

3. Joint response during counter-terrorism operations was a goal of this operation.

4. Indian Air Force was a part of this exercise.

Select the answer using the code given below:

Options: (a) 1, 2 and 3 (b) 1 and 4 (c) 1 and 4 (d) 2, 3 and 4*