The majority of Russian soldiers are fighting in Ukraine. In the Far East, however, tens of thousands are also deployed during a maneuver. Unlike the soldiers at the front, President Putin is now paying them a visit.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has traveled to Russia's Far East for a large-scale military exercise with Chinese participation. At the Sergeyevsky military compound, Putin met with Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu and Chief of Staff Valery Gerasimov. As his spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, according to Russian news agencies, Putin wants to observe the final phase of the exercises.
According to Moscow, more than 50,000 soldiers are involved in the maneuver, including 140 aircraft and 60 war and support ships. The military exercise "Vostok 2022" began on Thursday last week with maneuvers of fighter jets, deployment of anti-aircraft units and simulated mine clearance in the Sea of Japan, according to the Russian Defense Ministry.
The maneuver is expected to last until Wednesday. In addition to Russian troops, soldiers from several allied countries or countries bordering Russia are involved, including China and India. Similar exercises were last held in 2018.
The maneuver coincides with unpleasant news for the Russian army. According to Ukrainian information, they have already lost more than 50,000 soldiers in the war against Ukraine. After 195 days of invasion, 50,150 Russian soldiers were killed, the Ukrainian general staff said on Facebook. However, the British Ministry of Defense assumes that only around 25,000 Russian soldiers were killed.
However, it seems clear that Russia is desperately looking for volunteers for the war. The US think tank Institute of the Study of War writes in the latest situation report that Russia will increasingly forcibly recruit residents of the occupied territories to compensate for its losses in Ukraine.
