Putin attends Russia’s Vostok 2018 war games

Vladimir Putin says Russia’s armed forces will continue to be strengthened, as they undertake their largest war games since the fall of the Soviet Union.

For the first time, Chinese troops joined the week-long exercises on Thursday.

On the other side of the world, NATO simulated jet interceptions over Western Europe to deter Russian aircraft from entering NATO airspace. Russia and the West have not looked so hostile since the end of the Cold War.

Al Jazeera’s Rory Challands reports from Vladivostok.