Russia to hold biggest war games in nearly four decades

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Russia will hold its biggest war games in nearly four decades next month, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu was quoted as saying on Tuesday by Russian news agencies.

The exercise, called Vostok-2018 (East-2018), will take place in central and eastern Russian military districts and involve almost 300,000 troops, over 1,000 military aircraft, two of Russia's naval fleets, and all its airborne units, Russian news agencies reported.

It will be the biggest military exercise since 1981, Shoigu was cited as saying.

He was referring to the exercises held in September 1981 by the Soviet authorities, called Zapad-81 or West 81.

Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) listens to Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu (R) during a reception for ‍military servicemen who took part in Syrian campaign, at Grand Kremlin Palace on December 28, 2017 in Moscow, Russia. /VCG Photo

Those were unprecedented at the time in terms of the number of troops and military hardware, with around 100,000 troops involved, Russian television reported.

"This will be something of a repeat of Zapad-81, but in some senses even bigger," Shoigu said.

The Vostok-2018 exercises are set to be carried out from September 11-15 with the participation of Chinese and Mongolian military personnel.

Russian troops underwent snap checks of their combat-readiness last week and Russia has already sent around 30 fighter planes to aerodromes in eastern Siberia, the defense ministry said.

Chinese troops have also begun arriving by train with their equipment in the region east of Lake Baikal, the ministry said.

The war games come as Russia is hit by the latest round of US sanctions and faces even harsher ones over its alleged role in a nerve agent attack in Britain, with relations with the West at their lowest since the Cold War.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that such war games were “essential” in the current international situation, which he said is “often aggressive and unfriendly toward our country.”

Meanwhile, NATO spokesman Dylan White said that Russia had briefed the alliance, which planned to monitor them.

Chinese army's echelons with servicemen and military equipment to participate in Vostok-2018 military exercises arrive at Zabaikalsk unloading station, August 26, 2018. /VCG Photo

"Vostok demonstrates Russia’s focus on exercising large-scale conflict. It fits into a pattern we have seen over some time: a more assertive Russia, significantly increasing its defense budget and its military presence," White said in a statement.

Russia last held large-scale war games in September 2017, in regions bordering NATO countries in the Baltics.

Moscow and Minsk said the joint maneuvers involved some 12,700 troops in the two countries combined, but Western officials have said the true number may have been around 100,000.

(With inputs from agencies)

(Cover: Russian President Vladimir Putin and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu watch the Zapad-2017 war games, Sept. 18, 2017. /VCG Photo)