Russia just put its military on high alert ahead of massive war games that'll be 'unprecedented in scale'

pulse

August 20, 2018 4:56 PM

China and Mongolia will also participate in Vostok-2018, which will be the largest war games since the Zapad-81 exercises in 1981, which were the largest Soviet war games ever held.

Russia's military forces in the country's east were put on high alert Monday ahead of massive war games that also involve China and Mongolia, the largest show of power in nearly 40 years.
The massive war games, Vostok-2018, will be "the largest preparatory action for the armed forces since Zapad-81," according to the Russian defense minister.
The Zapad exercises in 1981 involved about 100,000 to 150,000 troops, the largest Soviet war games ever held.

Russia's military forces in the country's east were put on high alert Monday ahead of massive war games that also involve China and Mongolia, the largest show of power in nearly 40 years, the Russian defense minister said.

Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said the five-day "snap inspection" of the troops will pave the way for the massive exercise called Vostok-2018, or East-2018, which will be held in August and September.

Vostok-2018 will be

The Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said President Vladimir Putin could attend the exercise.

Speaking to the top Russian military brass, Shoigu said army, air force and navy units will take part in the exercise that will be held across the Far East and Siberia.

As part of a smaller, separate military exercise this week under the auspices of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, a security group dominated by Moscow and Beijing, Chinese warplanes landed Monday at a Russian air base in the Chelyabinsk region in the Ural Mountains.

The Russian military has increased both the scope and frequency of its maneuvers amid tensions with the West. It also has expanded military ties with China.

Moscow and Beijing have conducted a series of joint military maneuvers, including exercises in the South China Sea and navy drills in the Baltics last summer.

The two countries have forged what they described as a "strategic partnership," expressing their shared opposition to the "unipolar" world — the term they use to describe perceived U.S. global domination.

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