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Nearly 300,000 servicemen, 36,000 tanks, armoured personnel carriers and other vehicles, 80 naval vessels as well as a thousand aircraft will take part in Vostok 2018. The drills are set to become Russia’s largest military exercises since the Zapad drills in 1981. They take place in the middle of NATO’s Rapid Trident 2018 military drill programme, which are being held in Ukraine until Saturday to “stand in solidarity” of the country, which lost Crimea to Russian separatists in 2014. The Russian Defence Ministry said: “The Vostok-2018 military manoeuvres have begun in Russia's Far East.

"Over 6,000 troops from three military formations and three separate units of the Airborne will participate in the Vostok-2018 drills.” Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said: "These are the largest drills of the Armed Forces, which acquired the status of international drills, since the Zapad 1981 exercises, it has an unprecedented scale, both in terms of spatial scope and number of involved military command, troops and forces." Russian senator and reserve colonel, Frants Klintsevich, said: “It suited the West that our units and headquarters lacked combat skills and coordination, but times have changed; now we have a different attitude to combat readiness". The manoeuvres include Chinese and Mongolian troops in one of the drill’s stages.

The drills are set to become Russia’s largest military exercises since the Zapad drills in 1981

They take place in the middle of NATO’s Rapid Trident 2018 military drill programme

The Chinese Air Force will send 26 helicopters and six jets to Russia for taking part, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. According to the ministry, the Chinese aircraft include Mi-171 helicopters – bought in Russia – and nine Z-9 and nine Z-19 choppers. The Chinese Defence Ministry spoke of deepening military cooperation and "enhancing both sides' capabilities to jointly respond to various security threats", but it did not specify what those threats are. The drills will take place in eastern Siberia and will spread across five army training grounds, four airbases and areas in the Sea of Japan, Straits and Sea of Okhotsk. They are aimed to check the combat skills of Russian forces and the rapid deployment of thousands of troops, TV Zvezda reports. It comes amid heightened tensions between NATO and Russia with many dubbing it a “New Cold War”. NATO Spokesman Dylan said: “All nations have the right to exercise their armed forces, but it is essential that this is done in a transparent and predictable manner. "Vostok 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." NATO’s drills opened on September 3 at the Hetman Petro Sahaidachnyy National Ground Forces Academy in Ukraine’s western region of Lviv. About 2,200 troops from 14 countries, including the United States and nine other NATO member states took part. US ambassador to Ukraine, Marie Yovanovitch, said at the opening ceremony that all countries in the drills "stand in solidarity with Ukraine for Ukrainian security, Ukrainian sovereignty, and Ukrainian territorial integrity”.

The manoeuvres include Chinese and Mongolian troops in one of the drill’s stages