Russian war games: Putin orders largest mobilisation since 1981 amid European charm offensive
/ / / / / / / / Russian war games: Putin orders largest mobilisation since 1981 amid European charm offensive

Russian war games: Putin orders largest mobilisation since 1981 amid European charm offensive

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PUTIN’S not holding back. Not only has he launched a fresh charm offensive against Europe’s wavering eastern states, he’s just ordered military manoeuvres on a scale not seen since 1981.


RUSSIAN President Vladimir Putin has made no secret of his desire to reunify the former Soviet Union states, many of which are now members of NATO.

His social media propaganda campaigns, economic leveraging and military intimidation have been acting to those ends now for at least a decade.

So little wonder a nervous Europe has responded with alarm when an Austrian dignitary ‘bent the knee’ to Putin at her wedding.

And the act came even as Moscow announced the start of a five-day “snap inspection” ahead of massive new military manoeuvres in Siberia and the Far East.

It boasts it is the largest mobilisation of military troops and equipment since the peak of the Cold War in 1981.


LARGEST MOBILISATION


The Moscow Times reports war games dubbed Vostok-2018 (East-2018) will be conducted between September 11 and 15 at the Tsugol training facility in the Trans-Baikal Territory.

Russia will be mobilising troops from its Eastern and Central military districts, as well as its Northern Fleet.

Russia’s Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said it was “the largest preparatory action for the armed forces” since 1981.


Some 3200 Chinese troops, along with 30 aircraft and 900 vehicles, will also be taking part.

“This will be a series of related special exercises and a practical rally of hostilities that will be conducted in the territory of the two military districts,” Lieutenant-General Ivan Buvaltsev said.


The upcoming games would be “unprecedented in scale, both in terms of area of operations and numbers of military command structure, troops and forces involved”, he said.

The report states President Putin personally ordered a “snap” mass inspection of paratroops and transport aviation between August 20 and 25.

The large-scale military manoeuvres follow Russia’s hosting of the “International Military Games”, which it says involved 166 teams from 29 countries — again including China.

The size of the Vostok-2018 military manoeuvres follows controversy last year after NATO challenged Moscow over the true scale of a similar event.

Zapad-2017 was conducted along the borders of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland. These former Soviet Union states are the constant target of pressure and intimidation from Moscow.

The Russian war-games were supposed to be limited by treaty to just 13,000 troops. Germany’s Defence Minister stated the real number was closer to 100,000.

DIVIDE AND CONQUER


It’s all about reading between the lines.

The pro-Kremlin RT television network at the weekend widely circulated footage of a radiant bride bending her knees in a deep curtesy bow in front of Putin at the end of a dance.

Karin Kneissl is Austria’s foreign minister.

That she made such a deep bow to Putin added furore to the already-controversial visit to her weekend wedding. Putin was one of around 100 guests at Kneissl’s wedding to a businessman in southeastern Austria.

Austria’s opposition has criticised Kneissl, saying the country’s reputation for political neutrality has been damaged. Austria currently holds the European Union’s rotating presidency. But Austria’s far-right insists it was the right and polite thing to do.

Russia has been accused of seeking to weaken and divide the EU, notably by maintaining links with populist parties in several European countries.

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