(Photo : DIMITAR DILKOFF/AFP via Getty Images)
President Vladimir Putin is resisting attempts by the US and its allies to isolate him over his invasion of Ukraine by organizing significant military exercises with China and other countries.
Vostok 2022 military exercises will take place from September 1 to September 7 in several places in the Far East and the Sea of Japan, Russia announced on Monday.
After Moscow revealed the Vostok 2022 drills will include more than 50,000 troops from China, India, and numerous other nations, the White House expressed worry about any country undertaking military exercises with Russia, which had launched an "unprovoked and barbaric" war against Ukraine.
Russia's Vostok 2022 Will be Participated by Several Countries
The week-long Vostok-2022 war games, which begin on Thursday in Russia's far east and include naval drills in the Sea of Japan, are expected to involve more than 50,000 soldiers and 5,000 pieces of military hardware, including more than 140 planes and 60 warships.
The exercises will allow the participating nations' armies to practice defensive and offensive operations at seven Eastern Military District training facilities as well as in maritime and coastal regions of the Sea of Okhotsk and the Sea of Japan, a statement from the Russian Defense Ministry, according to NDTV.
The New Delhi government is sending a modest 75-strong military detachment to the army drills even as the US is courting India as a defense partner and pleading with it not to weaken UN sanctions on Russia for the crisis in Ukraine. They include Gurkha soldiers as well as officials of the navy and air force, although India is not sending any military personnel to Russia.
India, which has previously participated in the drills, has refrained from taking a side in Russia's conflict in Ukraine, in part because of its dependence on Moscow as its primary source of armaments in the face of ongoing border concerns with China and Pakistan.
Nevertheless, the South Asian country cast its first anti-Russian vote in a procedural vote at the UN Security Council last week, allowing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to address the council via video link. Additionally, India has suspended efforts to jointly develop helicopters and another plan to purchase 30 fighters from Russia, as per Bloomberg via MSN.
The exercises will involve forces from numerous former Soviet countries, China, India, Laos, Mongolia, Nicaragua, and Syria, and will be held at seven fire ranges in far eastern Russia. The drills will include participation from other forces as well as Russian Airborne Troops, long-range bombers, and military transport planes, according to the ministry.
Since Russia moved soldiers into Ukraine on February 24, defense connections between Moscow and Beijing have become closer, as seen by the maneuvers. China has steadfastly refrained from criticizing Russia's action, blaming the US and NATO for inciting Moscow, and has denounced the punitive sanctions put in place against that country, Business Mirror reported.
Read Also: Chinese Navy Constructs Five More Destroyers To Become the Most Formidable Armada Surpassing US Navy
Japan Announces Missile Development To Counter Russia, China
In the meantime, as part of a military buildup intended to counter China and Russia's threats, Japan announced on Wednesday that it will develop and mass produce a cruise missile and a high-velocity ballistic missile.
A decades-long range restriction imposed on Japan's constitutionally bound Self Defence Forces, which meant they could only field missiles with ranges of a few hundred kilometers, is broken by the acquisition plan outlined in the Ministry of Defence's annual budget request.
After China launched five ballistic missiles into waters less than 160 kilometers (100 miles) from Japan this month as a show of force in response to US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi recently traveling to Taiwan. North Korea was identified by the government as a threat to Japan.
The budget request is for money to mass produce ground-launched cruise missiles, an improved Type 12 ship-striking missile designed by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, and new, fast glide ballistic missiles that can strike ground targets. Additionally, the government is looking for funding to create hypersonic warheads and other missiles, Reuters reported.
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