Russian President Vladimir Putin will attend the Vostok-2022 war games hosted by Russia in coordination with China and other Moscow allies, reports said on Friday. According to Russian state broadcaster RT, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin will visit the active phase of the military exercises on September 6. The trip comes ahead of his upcoming travel plans to Central Asia in mid-September, when he may meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping and other countries’ leaders for a regional summit. RUSSIA ACCUSES UKRAINE OF PLANTING SPIES AT ZAPPORIZYA NUCLEAR PLANT Amid IAEA INSPECTION Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping are strengthening ties. (Getty Images) “It will work in Vladivostok itself,” Peskov said, referring to an area along the Sea of Japan and just north of North Korea. “Vostok-2022 armed forces strategic command and staff exercises begin there.” The Russian Defense Ministry said this week that the drills will be held Sept. 1-7 at various locations across Russia’s Far East. The exercises will involve more than 50,000 troops and involve several former Soviet nations, China, India, Laos, Mongolia, Nicaragua and Syria. The exercises will take place at seven different firing ranges and will employ over 5,000 weapons units, 140 aircraft and 60 warships. The massive military drills signal not only an expanding relationship between Russia and China amid heightened tensions with the US, but are meant to demonstrate Russia’s ability to send tens of thousands of troops to participate in military exercises amid the war in Ukraine, he said. a Fox expert. News. “It’s a strategic messaging campaign,” said former Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) officer Rebekah Koffler, adding that it means “business as usual for Russia, despite the fact that the war is raging.” In this handout photo from video released by the Press Service of the Russian Ministry of Defense on Monday, Aug. 29, 2022, Chinese soldiers arrive at the Grodekovo train station to participate in war games exercises, in Grodekovo, Primorsky Krai, Russia. (Press Service of the Ministry of Defense of Russia) PYONGYANG, MOSCOW EXPRESS INTEREST IN SENDING NORTH KOREAN OPERATORS TO REASSEMBLY EASTERN UKRAINE The Russia expert said Putin is letting Western nations know that Moscow is not as isolated as the US and its allies would like to believe amid the war in Ukraine. “This is a multilateral war game with China having 2,000 troops involved – plus 12 other countries, including Syria, and possibly India,” he added. Kofler said Putin could be planning some kind of stunt to “take by surprise” the US and Western allies, such as a simulated “nuclear weapons release”. The former DIA intelligence officer pointed to military exercises in 2010, when Russian forces simulated a tactical nuclear strike against an invading force. The 2018 drills saw China’s first-ever participation in the coordinated exercises, which were presided over by Putin and Xi during live-fire drills. CHINA IS MONITORING RELATIONSHIP WITH RUSSIA, ACCUSES US OF BEING ‘MASTERS OF UKRAINE CRISIS’ Soldiers watch the “Vostok-2022” strategic military exercise in Moscow, Russia on September 1, 2022. (Russian Ministry of Defense / Handout / Anadolu Agency via Getty Images) “Such things are prone to misunderstandings, miscalculations and unintended escalation, especially during an active conflict, as relations between Russia and the US, and China and the US are extremely tense,” he said. Koffler noted that while this year’s drills are much smaller than in previous years, she warned, “We are in a very dangerous zone.” “Both Russia and China are behaving recklessly and disrespecting the current US administration,” he added. The Russian Defense Ministry said this week that as part of coordinated training operations, the Russian and Chinese navies will “exercise joint action to protect maritime communications, areas of maritime economic activity and support ground troops in littoral areas” in the Sea of Japan . CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP The naval drills come as Western defense officials grow increasingly concerned about China’s aggressive behavior toward Taiwan. It remains unclear whether Xi will officially travel to the regional conference to meet with Putin, but reports last month suggested the Chinese president was considering the trip after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taipei earlier in the month – the which caused an outcry from Beijing. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Caitlin McFall is a reporter for Fox News Digital. She can be reached at [email protected] or @ctlnmcfall on Twitter.
