Overview
- Moscow carried out the three-day exercise from May 19 to May 21, mobilizing roughly 65,000 personnel, about 7,800 pieces of equipment and more than 200 missile launchers as announced by the Russian Defense Ministry.
- Russian footage and statements showed deployment and training with strategic systems including a Borei-class nuclear submarine, MiG-31 fighters with Kinzhal capability, RS-24 Yars ICBMs and Iskander-M units that practiced receiving so-called ‘special’ munitions.
- The drills took place during Vladimir Putin’s visit to China and after the February expiry of the New START treaty and a large Ukrainian drone attack, timing that analysts say amplified the exercises’ political and diplomatic message.
- Separate reports on May 20–21 allege that the Chinese military secretly trained several hundred Russian soldiers in late 2025, but those claims remain unconfirmed by independent sources or Chinese officials.
- Western analysts describe the operation mainly as public messaging meant to reassure domestic audiences and deter NATO support for Ukraine, and the moves could prompt closer monitoring of Russia–China military ties and shifts in NATO posture near Russia’s borders.