Russia is peace-loving but prepared to defend its national interests, Vladimir Putin has said during the country's largest military exercises since the Cold War. Speaking to 30,000 Russian and Chinese troops lined up at the Tsugol training zone east of Lake Baikal, the president said Russia sought cooperation with other countries. At the same time, he stressed that the manoeuvres, which were said to include a third of Russia's active military personnel, were the first time the army and navy had undergone such a “complex and large-scale test”. “Russia is a peace-loving nation. We do not have and cannot have any plans of aggression,” Mr Putin said. “Our duty toward Russia, our motherland, is to be ready to stand up for its sovereignty, security and national interests, and support our allies if required,” he added. With up to 300,000 troops, the Vostok war games are said to have surpassed the largest Soviet exercises Credit: Mladen Antonov/AFP/Getty “For this reason, we are committed to further strengthening our armed forces and supplying them with the most up to date weapons and equipment, as well as promoting international cooperation.” Although troops were attacking an imaginary opponent, analysts have said the exercises are clearly designed to rehearse a potential conflict with the United States. In a sign of its growing ties with Russia, China sent 3,000 soldiers, 900 vehicles and 30 aircraft to the exercises. Vostok 2018, China-Russia War Games, in pictures Chinese defence minister Wei Fenghe sat in the viewing booth with Mr Putin and the commander of Mongolia's military, which also sent troops. Mr Putin thanked the personnel from China and Mongolia, noting that they had been allies with the Soviet Union during the Second World War. “We share a long-standing and solid tradition of brotherhood in arms,” he said. Vostok 2018 will last seven days across nine training zones in eastern Russia. Chinese and Russian aircraft take part in Thursday's manoeuvres near the Mongolian border Credit: Mladen Antonov/AFP/Getty According to defence ministry claims, 300,000 troops, 36,000 vehicles, 1,000 aircraft and 80 warships will take part, surpassing even the Zapad war games of 1981. Mr Putin watched through a pair of binoculars as paratroopers rappelled from helicopters, aircraft fired missiles and tanks thundered across the fields. Artillery fired more than 2,500 shells on Thursday in a technique called the “wall of fire”. Vladimir Putin speaks with soldiers at the Tsugol training zone in eastern Russia Credit: Vyacheslav Prokofyev/TASS via Getty A nuclear, bacteriological and chemical weapons regiment also took part in the exercises, according to the Kremlin. Shortly after the drills, the suspects in the Skripal case spoke on a state broadcast, denying that they deployed a Russian-made nerve agent in Salisbury. Following the drills, Mr Putin awarded medals to several soldiers from the participating countries.
