India has sent a contingent of about 200 army personnel to Russia to take part in the multilateral strategic and command military exercise “Vostok – 2022”.  It commenced from Thursday at the training grounds of the Eastern Military District of Russia and will last till September 7.

China is also taking part in this drill where more than 50,000 troops, 140 aircraft and 60 warships from different countries are participating.

Giving details of the exercise here on Thursday, officials said the  exercise is aimed at interaction and coordination amongst other participating military contingents and observers. The Indian Army contingent comprising of troops from 7/8 Gorkha Rifles had arrived at the exercise location and over the next seven days will undertake joint manoeuvres to include joint field training exercises, combat discussions, and firepower exercises.

The Indian Army contingent will look forward to sharing practical aspects and put into practice the validated drills, procedures and practice amalgamation of new technology through discussions and tactical exercises.

Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said here on Thursday India has been regularly participating in multilateral exercises in Russia, along with a number of other countries.

Russia is hosting these drills in the backdrop of its ongoing military action in Ukraine and the persisting stand-offs at the border in Ladakh between the armies of India and China. Last year, India attended Exercise ZAPAD 2021 drills in Russia in which 17 countries including China and Pakistan took part. The Russian defence ministry stated earlier regarding the latest drills that during the exercise the participating forces would practice measures to maintain military security in the eastern region.

"The drills are set to master the skills of commanders and headquarters in exercising command and control of combined arms and coalition forces to repel acts of aggression in the Eastern direction and in the Far Eastern maritime zone, raise compatibility and interoperability of the collation forces in jointly coping with the objectives of maintaining peace, protecting interests and ensuring military security in the Eastern region," the ministry said.

The military exercises will take place at  different locations in Far East and Sea of Japan.