Russia Rehearses Seizing Territory of Central Asian Neighbor in Massive 47,000

Key Points:

• Russia conducted the Center-2026 military exercises involving over 47,000 personnel, practicing both defensive and offensive operations, including establishing a "security zone" in a neighboring Central Asian state, likely Kazakhstan.
• The drills took place from September 28 to October 3 across 11 training grounds and the Caspian Sea, featuring around 2,000 military vehicles, 90 aircraft, and 77 naval vessels, with participation from Belarus, China, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Pakistan, Tajikistan, and Kazakhstan.
• Russian forces simulated repelling an attack in the South Ural direction before launching an offensive to retake territory and create a security zone beyond Russia's borders, incorporating battlefield experience and equipment from the Ukraine conflict.
• Russian President Vladimir Putin observed the exercises, which excluded units currently engaged in Ukraine, though over 2,000 personnel with combat experience from Ukraine participated in the drills.
• Separately, Ukrainian intelligence reported plans for Russia to train around 600 Chinese troops in 2025, focusing on tank warfare, artillery, air defense, and combat engineering, signaling increased military cooperation between Moscow and Beijing.