Russia to hold largest military exercise since Soviet era
Russia is preparing to conduct its largest military exercise in decades, with the participation of China and Mongolia.
“The exercise will be of an unprecedented scale,” Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said. The joint exercises, dubbed “Vostok-2018,” will take place in Siberia and Russia’s Far East. The number of troops and forces participating, as well as the locations of the exercises, will be “unprecedented,” Shoigu said.
 |
| Russian tanks participate in the Zapad-2017 exercise in Belarus in September 2017. Photo: Sputnik |
The exercise will be larger than the largest in the history of the Soviet Union, which took place in 1981 on the territory of Belarus, Ukraine, the three Baltic states and some countries that joined the Warsaw Pact. The total number of troops participating in the “Vostok-2018” exercise has not yet been disclosed.
Meanwhile, China confirmed that it will send 3,000 soldiers to join the Russian forces. The Chinese Ministry of Defense also said that more than 900 military equipment, along with 30 fighter jets and helicopters, will be deployed to Russia to participate in the exercise.
The upcoming exercises will be larger in scale than Russia’s Zapad-2017 exercises last year, which caused deep concern in the West. Zapad-2017 involved 12,700 troops, 70 military aircraft, 10 warships and about 680 military vehicles.
The West accused Russia of conducting military exercises with a number of troops exceeding the initial announcement, and at the same time claimed that behind these exercises was a plot to invade neighboring countries.
Despite Russia's assertion that the Zapad exercises are defensive in nature, NATO and the Western media have accused them of being an act of aggression, whereby NATO increases its military presence in Eastern Europe.
In response to Russia’s Zapad-2017 exercise, Poland held a military exercise called Dragon 17, which involved forces from the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Lithuania, Latvia, Slovakia, Italy, Bulgaria and many other countries. The number of troops participating in Dragon 17 exceeded that of Zapad and reached 17,000 soldiers and 3,500 military equipment.
NATO continues to increase military exercises on Russia’s doorstep. 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 20, Latvia also conducted its largest military exercise since its independence. The exercise involved more than 10 NATO member countries.
