Largest Russian exercise in 40 years

moscow - Russia will hold the biggest military exercise in almost forty years next month. The Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced that yesterday. 'The exercise has no precedent in terms of geographical scale and troop strength,' says Shoigu.

Almost 300,000 soldiers, two naval fleets and more than a thousand aircraft participate in Vostok-2018. China and Mongolia also participate in the exercise. For example, Beijing controls 3. 200 soldiers and about thirty planes. In the run-up to Vostok-2018, a lot of training is already being done with mobilizing units.

Vostok-2018 will be held in the far east of Russia. Moscow is avoiding the west of the country with exercise, to avoid misunderstandings with NATO, military analysts suspect. At the same time, China's participation in Vostok-2018 will be a signal to Washington, which is currently pursuing a trade war with Beijing.