India and Russia kick off joint military exercise in Russia

India and Russia have kicked off the eighth edition of their joint military exercise in the Russian city of Vladivostok with a focus on counter-terror operations. The main focus of this edition of 'Indra-2016' exercise, which started Friday, is on Counter-Terrorism Operations in semi mountainous and jungle terrain under United Nations Mandate.

To achieve interoperability in joint operations, troops from both sides would acquaint themselves with the respective approach to such operations.

0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">Brigadier Sukrit Chadah is leading the Indian contingent of 250 soldiers from the Kumaon Regiment while the Russian army is being represented by 250 soldiers from the 59th Motorised Infantry Brigade.Addressing the contingents, Brig Chadah highlighted the need for jointness between the two nations to defeat terrorism.

The 'Indra' series of bilateral exercises is one of the major bilateral defence cooperation initiatives between India and Russia since 2003.