Putin Smiles With His Defence Minister As He Inspects Big Military Drills
Putin was shown smiling and joking with his minister on Tuesday as he inspected military drills.Moscow: Russian President Vladimir Putin was shown smiling and joking with his defence minister on Tuesday as he inspected a big military exercise in Russia's far east, thousands of miles from the war in Ukraine.The "Vostok" (East) exercises also involve troops from China and India, although it was not clear if units from those countries were taking part in the portion observed by Putin.The Zvezda military news service showed a clip of Putin seated next to Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu, both wearing military combat jackets and exchanging a joke as they listened to a phone exchange between Shoigu's deputy and the head of the general staff.By proceeding with the four-yearly Vostok exercises, P...