
AI-generated summary
Exercise Center-2026 is part of the regular training of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation and is conducted as part of strategic command exercises. It is aimed at training the interaction of troops, checking combat readiness and coordinating actions with allies in the CSTO.
Deputy Minister of Defense of Russia Yunus-Bek Yevkurov has been appointed head of the strategic command and staff exercise Center-2026.
The Center-2026 exercise takes place from September 28 to October 3 at the Chebarkulsky training ground in the Chelyabinsk region.
More than 47 thousand people and 2 thousand weapons are involved in the exercise, including more than 600 pieces of equipment at the Chebarkulsky training ground.
MOSCOW, October 2 - RIA Novosti. Deputy Minister of Defense of Russia Yunus-Bek Yevkurov has been appointed head of the strategic command and staff exercise "Center-2026", according to the Kremlin's reference materials for Russian President Vladimir Putin's working trip to the Chelyabinsk region.
The strategic command exercise "Center-2026" takes place from September 28 to October 3.
“The general management of the exercise was entrusted to the Deputy Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation, General of the Army Yu.-B.B. Yevkurov. The Commander-in-Chief of the Ground Forces, Colonel General A.N. Mordvichev, was appointed deputy head of the exercise for the management of practical actions of the Ground Forces,” the materials say.
They specify that foreign military contingents arrived at the Chebarkulsky training ground in the Chelyabinsk region and began preparations for the exercise on September 18.
The total number of troops at the Chebarkulsky training ground will be more than 6 thousand military personnel, including 4.6 thousand Russian and 1,479 foreign (of which 634 are military contingents of the CSTO Collective Rapid Reaction Force). More than 600 pieces of equipment are involved, including 55 airplanes and helicopters, more than 500 UAVs of various modifications, and more than 50 robotic systems.
AI outlook — possibilities, not facts
After the completion of the Center-2026 exercise, official conclusions about its results and the effectiveness of the interaction of troops will be published.
Likely · Within weeks
The next strategic command exercise within the Center series may be planned for 2027.
Possible · Within months

Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the Chebarkulsky training ground in the Chelyabinsk region, where he inspected an exhibition of weapons, military and special equipment, including the Geran-5 jet drone with a speed of 450 km/h and a warhead of up to 90 kg for a range of up to 900 km, as part of the Center-2026 exercises.

Russian President Vladimir Putin met with foreign military attaches who arrived at the Center-2026 strategic command and staff exercise at the Chebarkulsky training ground in the Chelyabinsk region. The accompanying information mentions the characteristics of the Geran-4 drone: a flight range of 800 km and a warhead weighing 50 kg.

General Adnan al-Ahmad, Syria's observer for the Center 2026 exercise, said the Syrian military is interested in Russian military technology and is seeking to gain experience to develop its armed forces.

Russian President Vladimir Putin met with military attaches from 51 countries at the Chebarkulsky training ground in the Chelyabinsk region, where international exercises took place. He noted the usefulness and interest of their joint work.

The Russian Ministry of Defense published video materials from the strategic command and staff exercise "Center-2026", which took place on October 2, 2026 at the Chebarkulsky training ground in the Chelyabinsk region. The footage shows ground robotic kits, drones, artillery strikes, the movement of attack aircraft on motorcycles and ATVs, the work of assault units and various modifications of tanks, including the T-14 Armata and an unmanned tank.

The head of the observer delegation from Laos, Major General Ophat Khomatan, highly appreciated the organization, master classes and demonstration of equipment at the Center-2026 exercises in the Chelyabinsk region, expressing hope for continued cooperation between Russia and Laos.