Russia stages biggest military exercise since collapse of Soviet Union

Russian President Vladimir Putin was on Sakhalin where he observed a part of the large-scale military exercise staged by the Russian military.

It involves 160,000 troops and 5,000 tanks, and represents the largest military maneuvers in Russia since the era of the Soviet Union.

Sakhalin is an island in the Pacific Ocean in the Russian Far East, north of Japan. Covering 76,400 square kilometers, it is Russia’s largest island.

The drills began on Friday and continued over the weekend, and also include several ships of the Russian Pacific Fleet, along with 130 combat aircraft.