The first stage of Russia’s Vostok 2010 military drills ended on Saturday, the Defense Ministry said.
The statement said the drills, which began on June 29 in Russia’s Far East training areas and involved some 10,000 troops and around 1,000 items of military hardware, had been successful.
The second stage of the drills is expected to see the involvement of several times more service personnel and military equipment. The exercises continue until July 8.
The drills also feature the heavy nuclear-powered cruiser Pyotr Veliky of the Northern Fleet and the Guards guided missile cruiser Moskva of the Black Sea Fleet.
As many as 12,500 troops took part in last year's intermediate drills, while the previous large-scale Vostok 2008 drills involved more than 8,000 troops.
Gen. Nikolai Makarov, chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, earlier said this year's strategic drills would include the firing of live ammunition, simulated airborne assaults and amphibious assault landings.
As part of the drills, the Armed Forces will practice the deployment of additional troops in Siberia and the Far East to reinforce the existing military contingent in the region in case of a military conflict.
Makarov stressed that the Vostok 2010 drills were not aimed against any country.
"This exercise...is not directed against any specific country or military-political bloc. It has a purely defensive nature in ensuring the security and national interests of the [Russian] state in the Far East," he said.
Russia holds Vostok strategic command-and-staff drills every two years.
MOSCOW, July 3 (RIA Novosti)
