According to media reports, members of the Eastern and Central military districts as well as ships of the Pacific and Northern Fleets, the Airborne Force, more than 1,000 aircraft and around 36,000 tanks as well as other armoured vehicles were expected to take part in the Vostok-2018 exercises.
Relations between Russia and Nato — a 29-member defence alliance dominated by the US — worsened since Moscow annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the drills were justified given “aggressive and unfriendly” attitudes towards Russia. The drills, set to conclude on September 17, will be carried out in two stages.
In the the first phase, troops will be deployed in the Russian Far East, the North-Pacific and the Northern Sea, while the second phase would test inter-forces coordination in both defensive and attack operations. The exercise will be spread across five Army training grounds, four airbases and areas in the Sea of Japan, Bering Straits and Sea of Okhotsk. Up to 80 naval vessels will take part, from two Russian fleets.
