The ‘Vostok-2022’ drill started with the participation of the member countries of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) as well as China and India on seven training grounds in Russia’s Eastern Military District.
Military drills for defensive and offensive operations are running on September 1-7.
Training grounds include Goryachiye Klyuchi, Knyaze-Volkonsky, Lagunnoye, Sergeyevsky, Telemba and Uspenovsky as well as coastal areas of the Sea of Okhotsk and the Sea of Japan.
The states participating in the drills include Azerbaijan, Algeria, Armenia, Belarus, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, China, Laos, Mongolia, Nicaragua, Syria, and Tajikistan, mainly the members of the CSTO.
The Vostok-2022 maneuvers bring together over 5,000 weapons and equipment, including more than 50,000 soldiers, 140 fighter jets, 60 battleships and assault boats.
Putin attends the drills
On the other hand, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov announced that Russian President Vladimir Putin will attend the active phase of the drill as part of his visit to Far East.
Providing the information that Putin will arrive at Vladivostok on September 6, Peskov told reporters on September 2 that “The Vostok-2022 strategic command and staff drills will be held there. The president will attend the active phase of the drills on September 6.”
U.S. concerned about India’s participation
However, U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration expressed their concerns about India’s participation in the exercise. White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters on August 30 that any country exercising with Russia while the military operation in Ukraine is underway have raised Washington’s concerns.
Jean-Pierre’s statement received a response from New Delhi. India’s Ministry of External Affairs spokesman Arindam Bagchi told reporters on September 2 that his country regularly participates in multilateral military exercises in Russia as well as in several other countries.
“As for the Vostok drill and the U.S. criticism, India has been regularly participating in multilateral exercises in Russia, along with a number of other countries,” said Bagchi.
