Russian troops joined by Chinese for biggest war games in decades

Some 300,000 soldiers take part in five-day-long manoeuvres seen as a warning to Washington

Presidents Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping make pancakes at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, Russia. Photo: Reuters

Alec Luhn
© Telegraph Media Group Limited

Russia began its largest war games since the Cold War yesterday, drilling hundreds of thousands of troops alongside forces from its growing ally China.

With 300,000 soldiers, 36,000 vehicles, 1,000 aircraft and 80 ships, the Vostok exercises in eastern Russia will be even bigger than the Zapad training conducted by the Soviet Union in 1981, according to the defence minister.