Russia to hold largest war games since Cold War

Russia will host massive military exercises from September 11 to 15 with nearly 300,000 troops, 1,000 military aircraft and two naval fleets, reports Reuters.

The big picture: The war games, which also include the Chinese and Mongolian armies, will be the largest since a Soviet military exercise in 1981 — with almost a third of Russia's troops expected to participate. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the exercises are a necessary response to "the current international situation, which is often quite aggressive and unfriendly to our country," per Bloomberg. NATO began to bolster its defense forces in eastern Europe after Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014.