Russia will conduct its largest military exercises since the Soviet era.
Russia is preparing to conduct its largest military exercise in decades, with the participation of China and Mongolia.
Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu stated: “The exercises will be on an unprecedented scale.” According to Shoigu, the joint exercises, codenamed “Vostok-2018,” will take place in Russia’s Siberia and Far East regions. The number of soldiers and forces participating, as well as the locations of the exercises, will be “unprecedented.”
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| Russian tanks participating in the Zapad-2017 exercise in Belarus in September 2017. Photo: Sputnik |
This exercise will be larger in scale than the largest Soviet exercise in history, which took place in 1981 on the territories of Belarus, Ukraine, the three Baltic states, and several Warsaw Pact countries. The total number of soldiers participating in the "Vostok-2018" exercise has not yet been disclosed.
Meanwhile, China confirmed it would send 3,000 soldiers to participate alongside Russian forces. The Chinese Ministry of Defense also stated that more than 900 pieces of military equipment, along with 30 fighter jets and helicopters, would be deployed to Russia to participate in the exercises.
The upcoming exercise will be on a larger scale than the Zapad-2017 exercise conducted by Russia last year, which caused deep concern in the West. The Zapad-2017 exercise involved 12,700 soldiers, 70 military aircraft, 10 warships, and approximately 680 military vehicles.
The West accuses Russia of conducting military exercises with a number of troops exceeding initial announcements, and claims that the exercises are backed by a plot to invade neighboring countries.
Despite Russia's assertion that the Zapad exercises were defensive, NATO and Western media accused them of being an act of aggression, thereby increasing NATO's military presence in Eastern Europe.
In response to Russia's Zapad-2017 exercise, Poland held its own exercise, Dragon 17, involving forces from the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Lithuania, Latvia, Slovakia, Italy, Bulgaria, and many other countries. The number of soldiers participating in Dragon 17 exceeded that of Zapad, reaching 17,000 troops and 3,500 pieces of military equipment.
NATO continues to intensify military exercises right on its doorstep with Russia. Last June, more than 18,000 soldiers from 19 countries participated in a two-week exercise called “Saber Strike” held in Poland and the Baltic states.
Most recently, on August 20th, Latvia also conducted its largest military exercise since gaining independence. The exercise involved more than 10 NATO member countries.
