Russia will hold its largest war games since the fall of the Soviet Union next month — with thousands of Chinese and Mongolian troops taking part in the exercises in Siberia, the Russian Defense Ministry said.
Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said the five days of drills will pave the way for the Vostok 2018 military exercise, the largest since 1981’s massive Soviet war games — which involved as many as 150,000 troops.
The games will have an “unprecedented scale both in territory and number of troops involved,” Shoigu said in a statement, according to CNN.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said President Vladimir Putin may attend the exercise.
China will contribute 3,200 troops, 900 weapons, and 30 planes and helicopters, which will deploy from Sept. 11 to 15 at Russia’s Tsugol training range near where the borders of Russia, China and eastern Mongolia meet, China’s Defense Ministry said.
“The exercise is not directed against any third party” and will focus on “maneuver defense, firepower strikes and counterattack,” the Chinese statement added.
In preparation for the games, Shoigu ordered surprise combat readiness inspections of airborne troops as well as long-range aviation and air transport units, CNN reported.
The inspections involve “16 special exercises” with an emphasis on “aviation readiness” and “timely deployment of military command and control bodies.”
The Russian military has increased both the scope and frequency of its maneuvers amid tensions with the West. It also has broadened military ties with China.
Moscow and Beijing have conducted several joint military maneuvers, including exercises in the South China Sea and navy drills in the Baltics last summer.
The two countries have reached what they described as a “strategic partnership,” expressing their shared opposition to the “unipolar” world — the term they use to describe perceived American global domination.
In March, Putin boasted of new weaponry that he claimed would render NATO defenses “completely useless.”
Some of those arms were shown off in a video released soon after his July summit with President Trump.
With Post wires
