Russia cancels Zapad 23 exercise likely due to personnel and equipment shortages - British intelligence

British intelligence shared the information on Twitter.

"The Russian military’s under-performance in Ukraine has highlighted how JSEs have had limited training value and have largely been for show. Russia has likely canceled ZAPAD 23 because too few troops and equipment are available," the report says.

"There is a realistic possibility that the Russian leadership is also sensitive to domestic criticism liable from running another slickly presented JSE during wartime," the British intelligence added.

British intelligence reminded that in the period following 2010, "joint strategic exercises" took place in different regions of Russia in turn, but since 2021 they have been held more often in the western region, demonstrating that the priority is "countering the threat from NATO."