Military personnel from several countries have begun arriving in Russia for joint exercises involving China and other friends of the Russian Federation, amid tensions between the West, Moscow and Beijing, the Russian military announced on Monday, AFP reported.
The joint military exercise called “Vostok-2022” will take place from September 1 to 7 in the Russian Far East, involving soldiers from several countries neighboring or allied with Russia, such as China, Belarus, Syria and India.
These exercises are taking place amid high tensions between Russia and Western countries over the war in Ukraine, as well as between China and the United States over Taiwan.
Washington has consistently expressed concern over the rapprochement between China and Russia, which have close defense ties, saying the friendship between the two states threatens global security.
Allied troops receive equipment and weapons
“Foreign military contingents participating in the Vostok-2022 exercises arrived at the Sergiivychi training ground in the Primorye district of the Far East of the Russian Federation and began training and receiving equipment and weapons,” the Russian Ministry of Defense reported.
In total, “more than 50,000 soldiers, more than 5,000 units of weapons and military equipment, including 140 aircraft and 60 military and auxiliary vessels” will be mobilized, the Russian army also said, without specifying the number of participants from each country.
The exercises, led by the Russian General Staff, will consist of “defensive and offensive training” on land, in the air, and in the Seas of Japan and Okhotsk, the Russian Ministry of Defense said.
In the Sea of Japan, Russian and Chinese ships will train to “protect maritime communications” and “support land forces” in coastal areas, the same source said.
In mid-August, China confirmed that it was sending troops to Russia to participate in these military exercises, but clarified that its presence “has nothing to do with the current regional and international situation.”
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Source: Hot News RU
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