Chinese armed vehicles maneuver at the Tsugol training range in Russia's Trans-Baikal region. About 3200 Chinese troops attended the "Vostok-2018" strategic drills. (Photo by PAN Mengqi/chinadaily.com.cn)
Russia's largest military drills in over three decades, also attended by the Chinese military forces, kicked off at the Tsugol training range in Russia’s Trans-Baikal region on Tuesday.
Codenamed “Vostok-2018”, the drills are said to be the largest military exercises since the “Zapad-1981”, which was held in 1981 by the Soviet Union and involved about 100,000 to 150,000 troops.
Chinese soldiers are loading rockets into the launcher at the Tsugol training range in Russia's Trans-Baikal region. (Photo by PAN Mengqi/chinadaily.com.cn)
About 3,200 troops, along with over 1,000 pieces of weaponry and 30 fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters from the People's Liberation Army (PLA)’s Northern Theater Command, are scheduled to conduct combat training together with the Russian troops from Tuesday to Thursday.
All Chinese troops participating in the drills were moved to the region by railway and highway before the end of August and immediately started preparing in the field.
Chinese soldiers are loading rockets into the launcher at the Tsugol training range in Russia's Trans-Baikal region. (Photo by PAN Mengqi/chinadaily.com.cn)
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said earlier that the drills involve nearly 300,000 Russian troops, about 36,000 military vehicles, more than 1,000 aircraft and around 80 ships.
Shoigu said the drills “will be unprecedented in terms of geographic scope and the strength of command and control centers and forces due to participate”.
The logo of the 'Vostok-2018' strategic drills. The drills are said to be the largest military exercises in over three decades. (Photo by PAN Mengqi/chinadaily.com.cn)
In the strategic drills, the PLA and Russian armed forces have formed a joint operational commanding system, under which military forces from the two countries will hold joint exercises including mechanized defense，fire strike and counter-attack training.
