International

Vostok 2022: Russian military joined by allies in major drills

Published

2 years ago

September 2, 2022

Soldiers pose during an opening ceremony for the Vostok 2022 drills

Despite the war in Ukraine, Russia is sending tens of thousands of troops east to participate in the Vostok 2022 military exercises. They are intended as a clear signal to the West.

After weeks of preparations, Russia has launched the Vostok 2022 (East 2022) military drills. Over the next few days, the air force, paratroopers and other units will be testing their combat readiness across 13 military training grounds in Russia, with exercises held in Siberia, the Far Eastern Federal District, the Sea of Okhotsk and the Sea of Japan.

While Russia’s leadership is keeping the exact number of troops involved a secret, some 50,000 soldiers, 140 airplanes and 60 naval ships are thought to be participating in Vostok 2022. This year’s exercises are bound to be smaller than those of 2018, however, when Moscow dispatched some 300,000 soldiers for drills — the highest number ever to be mobilized since the Cold War ended.

Numerous other nations are joining the large-scale exercises, drawing broad international attention. The messaging is clear: Russia wants to signalize to the West it still has strong, loyal allies and can hold major drills despite the war in Ukraine.

China: Rival turned partner

The People’s Republic of China is Russia’s strongest partner at this year’s Vostok drills. Back in 2018, Beijing sent several thousand soldiers to join the exercises and thereby underscore its solidarity with Moscow. Even though China was seen as Russia’s strategic rival, Chinese figures were involved on all levels of the 2018 Vostok drills. In years prior, Moscow had partnered up with many states that were once under Soviet control.

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Russia’s invasion of Ukraine did not prompt Beijing to pull out of this year’s drills. On the contrary. According to China’s Defense Ministry “the goal is to develop more practical and friendly collaboration with the armies of participating states, enhance the level of strategic cooperation among participants, and strength our ability to respond to various security threats.” Earlier this week, Chinese troops began arriving in Primorsky Krai, in Russia’s Far Eastern Federal District.

This is not their first drill since the war in Ukraine began. In May, Russia and China sent bomber planes on joint exercises around Japan and South Korea. Indeed, in early February, both states pledged their friendship would have “no limits.“

That said, China has not actively supported Russian forces in Ukraine with troops or heavy military equipment.

India: A balancing act

India, like China, has avoided condemning Russia’s attack on Ukraine. This is because India is attempting a balancing act whereby it provides humanitarian aid for Ukraine, yet also maintains close cooperation with Russia. India has been buying large quantities of Russian oil, for instance, since the West imposed its sanctions on the country.

Delhi is also engaged in military cooperation with the United States. Just recently, Indian soldiers and US special forces trained together near the Chinese border.

Several weeks ago, India media outlets began reporting on Indian troops slated to participate in Vostok 2022. Both countries, Russia and India, share a long history of arms sales and military collaboration. Rumors have surfaced that India may want to buy a Russian hypersonic long-distance bomber.

Even so, India’s contribution to Vostok 2022 will be limited. Media reports indicate that no more than 75 military personnel may join the drills. Last year, India dispatched forces to Russia’s Zapad exercises in the country’s west.

Belarus: Under Russia’s thumb

In winter 2022, Belarus served as a staging ground for Russian troops ahead of their invasion of neighboring Ukraine. Russia at the time claimed its 100,000 troops were stationed there only as part of a joint military exercise. Belarusian strongman Alexander Lukashenko has so far not sent his own troops into Ukraine.

It is, however, sending a small contingent of soldiers to this year’sVostok drills. The Belarus Defense Ministry says no more than 250 soldiers from a mechanized brigade will join the drills.

Tajikistan and Mongolia: Ongoing dependence on Russia

It is hardly surprising that Tajikistan and Mongolia are also participating in the large-scale exercises. Both nations, after all, maintain close military ties with Moscow, and depend on Russia economically. Mongolia’s participation may also stem from its desire to establish and maintain good relations with its other neighbor, China.

Aside from the political symbolism of their involvement, Tajikistan and Mongolia will also be eager to see Russian military hardware in practice.

Related Topics:military Russian Vostok 2022

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Syria not threat to world, rebel leader al-Sharaa tells BBC

Published

3 days ago

December 19, 2024

Trends Admin

Ahmed al-Sharaa

Syria not threat to world, rebel leader al-Sharaa tells BBC

The de facto leader of Syria, Ahmed al-Sharaa, has said the country is exhausted by war and is not a threat to its neighbours or to the West.

In an interview with the BBC in Damascus, he called for sanctions on Syria to be lifted.

“Now, after all that has happened, sanctions must be lifted because they were targeted at the old regime. The victim and the oppressor should not be treated in the same way,” he said.

Sharaa led the lightning offensive that toppled Bashar al-Assad’s regime less than two weeks ago. He is the leader of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the dominant group in the rebel alliance, and was previously known by his nom de guerre of Abu Mohammed al-Jolani.

He said HTS should be de-listed as a terrorist organisation. It is designated as one by the UN, US, EU and UK, among many others, as it started as a splinter group of al-Qaeda, which it broke away from in 2016.

Sharaa said HTS was not a terrorist group.

They did not target civilians or civilian areas, he said. In fact, they considered themselves to be victim of the crimes of the Assad regime.

He denied that he wanted to turn Syria into a version of Afghanistan.

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Sharaa said the countries were very different, with different traditions. Afghanistan was a tribal society. In Syria, he said, there was a different mindset.

He said he believed in education for women.

“We’ve had universities in Idlib for more than eight years,” Sharaa said, referring to Syria’s north-western province that has been held by rebels since 2011.

“I think the percentage of women in universities is more than 60%.”

And when asked whether the consumption of alcohol would be allowed, Sharaa said: “There are many things I just don’t have the right to talk about because they are legal issues.”

He added that there would be a “Syrian committee of legal experts to write a constitution. They will decide. And any ruler or president will have to follow the law”.

Sharaa was relaxed throughout the interview, wearing civilian clothes, and tried to offer reassurance to all those who believe his group has not broken with its extremist past.

Many Syrians do not believe him.

The actions of Syria’s new rulers in the next few months will indicate the kind of country they want Syria to be – and the way they want to rule it.

Syria not threat to world, rebel leader al-Sharaa tells BBC

BBC

International

Israel hits ports, energy sites in Yemen after missile intercepted

Published

3 days ago

December 19, 2024

Trends Admin

Israel hits ports, energy sites in Yemen after missile intercepted

JERUSALEM: Israel said Thursday it struck ports and energy infrastructure it alleges are used by Houthi militants, after intercepting a missile fired by the group.

Israel’s military said it “conducted precise strikes on Houthi military targets in Yemen — including ports and energy infrastructure in Sanaa, which the Houthis have been using in ways that effectively contributed to their military actions.”

The announcement came shortly after Israel said it had intercepted a missile fired from Yemen.

Al-Masira, a media channel belonging to the Houthis, said a series of “aggressive raids” were launched in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa and the port city of Hodeidah.

It reported raids that “targeted two central power plants” in Yemen’s capital Sanaa, while in Hodeidah it said “the enemy launched four aggressive raids targeting the port… and two raids targeting” an oil facility.

The strikes were the second time this week that Israel’s military has intercepted a missile from Yemen.

On Monday, the Houthis claimed a missile launch they said was aimed at “a military target of the Israeli enemy in the occupied area of Yaffa” — a reference to Israel’s Tel Aviv area.

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Also Monday, an Israeli navy missile boat intercepted a drone in the Mediterranean after it was launched from Yemen, the military said.

The Houthi militants have said they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians and pledged Monday to continue operations “until the aggression on Gaza stops and the siege is lifted.”

On December 9, a drone claimed by Houthis exploded on the top floor of a residential building in the central Israel city of Yavne, causing no casualties.

In July, a Houthi drone attack in Tel Aviv killed an Israeli civilian, prompting retaliatory strikes on the Yemeni port of Hodeidah.

The Houthis have also regularly targeted shipping in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, leading to retaliatory strikes on Houthi targets by United States and sometimes British forces.

Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari said the group had become a “global threat,” pointing to Iran’s support for the militants.

“We will continue to act against anyone, anyone in the Middle East, that threatens the state of Israel,” he said.

Israel hits ports, energy sites in Yemen after missile intercepted

International

Gaza mediators intensify ceasefire efforts, Israeli strikes kill 20 people

Published

3 days ago

December 19, 2024

Trends Admin

A Palestinian boy looks as others inspect the damage at a tent camp sheltering displaced people, following an Israeli strike, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Al-Mawasi area, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, December 18, 2024. (Reuters)

Gaza mediators intensify ceasefire efforts, Israeli strikes kill 20 people

CAIRO: The United States, joined by Arab mediators, sought on Wednesday to conclude an agreement between Israel and Hamas to halt the 14-month-old war in the Gaza Strip where medics said Israeli strikes killed at least 20 Palestinians overnight.

A Palestinian official close to the negotiations said on Wednesday that mediators had narrowed gaps on most of the agreement’s clauses. He said Israel had introduced conditions which Hamas rejected but would not elaborate.

On Tuesday, sources close to the talks in Cairo, the Egyptian capital, said an agreement could be signed in coming days on a ceasefire and a release of hostages held in Gaza in return for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

Medics said an Israeli airstrike killed at least 10 people in a house in the northern town of Beit Lahiya while six were killed in separate airstrikes in Gaza City, Nuseirat camp in central areas, and Rafah near the border with Egypt.

In Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip, medics said four people were killed in an airstrike on a house. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military spokesman.

Israeli forces have operated in the towns of Beit Hanoun and Beit Lahiya as well as the nearby Jabalia camp since October, in a campaign the military said aimed to prevent Hamas militants from regrouping.

Palestinians accuse Israel of carrying out acts of “ethnic cleansing” to depopulate the northern edge of the enclave to create a buffer zone. Israel denies it.

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Hamas does not disclose its casualties, and the Palestinian health ministry does not distinguish in its daily death toll between combatants and non-combatants.

On Wednesday, the Israeli military said it struck a number of Hamas militants planning an imminent attack against Israeli forces operating in Jabalia.

Later on Wednesday, Muhammad Saleh, director of Al-Awda Hospital in Jabalia, said Israeli shelling in the vicinity damaged the facility, wounding seven medics and one patient inside the hospital.

The Israeli military had no immediate comment.

In the Central Gaza camp of Bureij, Palestinian families began leaving some districts after the army posted new evacuation orders on X and in written and audio messages to mobile phones of some of the population there, citing new firing of rockets by Palestinian militants from the area.

CEASEFIRE GAINS MOMENTUM

The US administration, joined by mediators from Egypt and Qatar, has made intensive efforts in recent days to advance the talks before President Joe Biden leaves office next month.

In Jerusalem, Israeli President Isaac Herzog met Adam Boehler, US President-elect Donald Trump’s designated envoy for hostage affairs. Trump has threatened that “all hell is going to break out” if Hamas does not release its hostages by Jan. 20, the day Trump returns to the White House.

CIA Director William Burns was due in Doha on Wednesday for talks with Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani on bridging remaining gaps between Israel and Hamas, other knowledgeable sources said. The CIA declined to comment.

Israeli negotiators were in Doha on Monday looking to bridge gaps between Israel and Hamas on a deal Biden outlined in May.

There have been repeated rounds of talks over the past year, all of which have failed, with Israel insisting on retaining a military presence in Gaza and Hamas refusing to release hostages until the troops pulled out.

The war in Gaza, triggered by a Hamas-led attack on communities in southern Israel that killed some 1,200 people and saw more than 250 abducted as hostages, has sent shockwaves across the Middle East and left Israel isolated internationally.

Israel’s campaign has killed more than 45,000 Palestinians, displaced most of the 2.3 million population and reduced much of the coastal enclave to ruins.

Gaza mediators intensify ceasefire efforts, Israeli strikes kill 20 people

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