Don’t Fear the Russian Military
The week-long exercises, which kicked off yesterday, are intended as a show of might. But the country is in no position to wage a real conflict.
The headline figures for Russia’s Vostok (or “East”) military exercises, which began yesterday, are dramatic: 300,000 soldiers, 36,000 tanks and other vehicles, 80 ships, and 1,000 aircraft operating across more than half the country. That’s double the size of the British armed forces. It’s also twice the size of the last Vostok war games, held back in 2014. As if that weren’t enough, some 3,200 Chinese troops and 30 aircraft are also involved, along with a small Mongolian force.
Vostok will take the form of a week-long clash between two sides, fought on land, in the air, and in mojo and its ability to mount and coordinate complex operations.
