Moscow _ Agencies
Moscow, on Tuesday, announced the launch of the largest military exercise in Russia´s modern history in the central and eastern regions of the country.
"The exercises of the Forces (east-2018) began in the Russian Far East, and the issues of applying the types of military teams in the interest of ensuring Russian military security will be worked out," the Russian Defense Ministry said in a report quoted by the news agency, "Sputnik ".
In its statement, the Ministry explained that the main objective of the exercise was to ascertain the readiness of the military administration in planning and implementation to regroup troops for long distances, to organize the interaction between ground teams and naval forces, as well as to obtain the practice of commanders and leadership headquarters and improve their skills in the management of troops.
The exercises will take place in two phases, the first of which will be the completion of the deployment of military groups in the Far East, as well as an increase in naval forces in the northern and Far East maritime areas. In the second phase, the commanders and headquarters will work to manage the inter-force teams with the practical practice of defensive and offensive actions.
Earlier, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shojo had said that some 300,000 military, 36,000 tanks, armored vehicles, more than 1,000 helicopters and a march would take part in maneuvers (east-2018), the largest in Russia, as well as the participation of troops from China and Mongolia.
The exercise comes at a time of heightened tension between the West and Russia, which is concerned about what it describes as the "unjustified military reinforcements" of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) near its western outskirts.
NATO says it has strengthened its forces in Eastern Europe to deter any possible Russian military action after Moscow annexed Crimea in 2014.
