Together with China and India
Russia begins major military maneuvers in the east

09/01/2022, 07:18 am

Despite the fighting in Ukraine, Moscow allowed 50,000 troops to take part in a major exercise in the east of the country. Russia is also seeking to join forces military with China and India.

In the midst of the Ukraine war, Russia has begun large-scale military maneuvers with more than 50,000 troops. The nearly week-long drills will be held in military training areas in eastern Siberia and the Far East and in the Sea of ​​Japan, thousands of kilometers from the fighting.

According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, countries such as China, India and Mongolia are also involved, as well as several ex-Soviet republics, with Belarus in the lead. In this way, Russia wants to show solidarity with other countries at a time of extreme tension with the West.

According to information from Moscow, 5,000 military vehicles, 140 aircraft and 60 other warships and ships will be used in the exercise “Vostok 2022” – in German “East 2022”. The maneuvers will be carried out in military training areas in Eastern Siberia and the Far East, as well as in the Sea of ​​Japan.

In 2018, 300,000 Russian soldiers took part

In particular, the participation of China and India in the maneuver attracted attention in the West. Relations between the world’s two most populous nations and nuclear powers have been strained since a military incident on their common border in the Himalayas two years ago that killed several people.

India’s participation is also noteworthy as the country has consistently maintained its neutrality in the Ukraine war in recent months and has stated that it has good relations with Western countries and Russia. On the one hand, most of India’s military equipment comes from Russia, on the other hand, India is part of the Indo-Pacific Quad security alliance along with the US, Japan and Australia. In this mixed situation, India has refrained from making official statements about military exercises.

Exercise “Vostok” is also performed before. Nearly 300,000 Russian troops took part in the most complex edition to date in 2018, as well as Mongolian and Chinese units.