The East 2022 military maneuvers that were held in eastern Russia with the participation of more than 50,000 soldiers from 13 countries besides Russia, led by India and China, ended at a time when Washington announced that it would test an intercontinental ballistic missile, and said that it had notified Russia of this matter.

This comes amid increasing tension between Russia and the West since the start of the Russian war on Ukraine, with Europe and America financially and militarily supporting Kiev and imposing unprecedented sanctions on Moscow. Domains".

Ryabkov stressed that "the danger of Washington's game of using Ukraine as a tool against Russia is increasing," as he put it.

Today, Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin oversaw the last part of large-scale military exercises near the border with China, and also held a meeting with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu before supervising the exercises. .

The maneuvers - which bears the name "Vostok (East) 2022" - witnessed joint exercises of warships in the Sea of ​​Japan that simulated confronting a group of tactical ships of an assumed enemy, and a long-range strategic bomber flew for hours as part of revealing the readiness of the air defense units participating in the exercises.

Maneuvers were also held at training sites in the Russian Far East and at sea off Russia's eastern coast, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov and local news agencies reported.

These military maneuvers were launched on 1 September, with the participation of more than 50,000 soldiers, 60 warships and 140 aircraft.

According to previous Russian data, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, China, Laos, Mongolia, Nicaragua, and Tajikistan, along with Syria and Algeria, participated in the maneuvers.

Putin is seeking to get closer to countries in Africa, South America and Asia, especially China, in order to strengthen his country's partnerships in Asia to confront Western sanctions, after Moscow found itself in a state of increasing isolation in light of the exacerbation of tension between it and Western capitals.


US ballistic missile

In exchange for these maneuvers, the US Department of Defense (Pentagon) announced that the US military intends to test an intercontinental ballistic missile tomorrow, Wednesday, from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, adding that Russia has been notified in advance.

A Pentagon spokesman described the test as a routine procedure and said it was aimed at demonstrating the readiness of the US military's ICBM forces.

Last month, the United States tested a Minuteman 3 ICBM, after delaying the test to avoid escalating tensions with Beijing, at a time when China was carrying out a show of force near Taiwan.


Russian-Chinese rapprochement

Beijing and Moscow have grown closer in recent years, strengthening their cooperation in a relationship that the two countries describe as "borderless" with the aim of countering the global hegemony of the United States.

Beijing refused to condemn the Russian intervention in Ukraine, and provided diplomatic cover for it by denouncing Western sanctions and the West's move to supply Kyiv with weapons, which raised the level of tension between China and the West, and this reached its climax during the visit of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan, which China considers part of its territory. .

In turn, Moscow fully sympathized with Beijing during the visit, and Putin accused Washington of "destabilizing" the world.

In a sign of strengthening their rapprochement, Russia announced today, Tuesday, that China will start paying for Russian gas shipments in rubles and yuan instead of the US dollar.