Putin attends Russia's joint military drills

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday attended joint military drills in his country's Far East involving troops from China and other nations. 

The week long exercise that began Thursday is intended to showcase growing defence ties between Russia and China and demonstrate that Moscow has enough troops and equipment to conduct the massive drills even while its forces are engaged in the special military operation in Ukraine.

The Vostok 2022 exercise that runs until Wednesday at seven firing ranges in Russia's Far East and the Sea of Japan involves more than 50,000 troops and over 5,000 weapons units, including 140 aircraft and 60 warships.

It engages troops from several ex-Soviet nations, China, India, Laos, Mongolia, Nicaragua, and Syria.