Russia launches biggest ever war games

Russia on Tuesday launched what it has called its largest every military drills , with hundreds of thousands of Russian troops taking part along with Chinese soldiers in a massive show of force that has rattled the West .
The week- long war games dubbed “ Vostok - 2018” (East - 2018 ), “ have kicked off” in far eastern Russia and on the Pacific Ocean , the defence ministry said in a statement .

It released video footage of military vehicles , planes , helicopters and ships getting into position for the initial stage of the drills .
The drills, which include the Chinese and Mongolian armies , have been condemned by NATO as a rehearsal for “ large - scale conflict” .
President Vladimir Putin is expected to attend Vostok - 2018 after hosting an economic forum in Russia ’ s far eastern city Vladivostok where his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping is one of the prominent guests .
The military exercises come at a time of escalating tensions between Moscow and the West over accusations of Russian interference in western affairs and ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and Syria .
The Russian army has compared the show of force to the USSR’ s 1981 war games that saw between 100, 000 and 150, 000 Warsaw Pact soldiers take part in “ Zapad - 81 ” ( West- 81 ) — the largest military exercises of the Soviet era .
But Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said these exercises are even larger , with 300, 000 soldiers, 36 ,000 military vehicles , 1 ,000 planes and 80 warships taking part in the drills.
“ Imagine 36 , 000 military vehicles moving at the same time : tanks , armoured personnel carriers, infantry fighting vehicles — and all of this, of course, in conditions as close to a combat situation as possible ,” Shoigu said .

The Russian army is rolling out all of its latest additions for the event : Iskander missiles that can carry nuclear warheads , T- 80 and T- 90 tanks and its recent Su - 34 and Su - 35 fighter planes .

At sea , the Russian fleet is deploying several frigates equipped with Kalibr missiles that have been used in Syria .
Wednesday will see games featuring anti -aircraft technology , while the main event will be on Thursday , the defence ministry told journalists covering the event in eastern Siberia .
NATO said that Vostok - 2018 “ demonstrates Russia ’ s focus on exercising large - scale conflict” .
“ It fits into a pattern we have seen over some time — a more assertive Russia , significantly increasing its defence budget and its military presence , ” the alliance’ s spokesman Dylan White said late August .
Last month , Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia ’ s “ ability to defend itself in the current international situation which is often aggressive and unfriendly to our country is justified , essential and without alternative ” .
Relations between Russia and the West declined sharply in 2014 with Moscow’ s annexation of Crimea and the subsequent conflict in eastern Ukraine .
The Kremlin has also accused NATO of expanding westwards and threatening Russian national security .
Moscow has increased the number of its large - scale military exercises in the Caucasus, the Baltic and the Arctic in recent years .
Russia ’s previous military exercise in the region , Vostok - 2014, was almost half the size, with 155, 000 soldiers participating .
The country ’ s war games in Eastern Europe last year , Zapad - 2017, saw 12 , 700 troops take part according to Moscow. Ukraine and the Baltic states said the true number was far bigger.