Russia and Belarus are preparing to hold large-scale cross-border military drills in September, which will involve nearly 13,000 troops, a Belarusian military official said. The upcoming strategic drills in Belarus named Zapad-2021 (West-2021) will involve thousands of servicemen, including those from Moscow-led defense bloc member Kazakhstan, as well as tanks, artillery, and aircraft, the ministry announced in a statement. “About 12,800 troops will participate in the drills on the territory of the Republic of Belarus, including 2,500 Russian personnel and up to 50 Kazakh servicemen from the CSTO [Collective Security Treaty Organization] Collective Operational Response Forces,” Belarus’ Deputy Defense Minister Viktor Gulevich said at a briefing, according to Russian news agency TASS. “Almost 400 Belarusian servicemen and over 30 units of military equipment of the Belarusian armed forces will take part in the drills on the territory of the Russian Federation,” he added. This year’s drills, which will be held …