
AI-generated summary
The Center-2026 exercises are carried out as part of the preparation of Russian troops for operations in the zone of a special military operation, where units with combat experience participate.
More than two thousand Russian military personnel with experience in special military operations took part in the Center-2026 strategic exercise.
More than 600 pieces of equipment were involved in the exercise, which proved themselves during a special military operation.
After practical actions, 800 military personnel and about 300 units of equipment depart for their group of troops to the zone of a special military operation.
MOSCOW, October 2 - RIA Novosti. More than two thousand Russian military personnel with experience in special operations took part in the Center-2026 strategic exercise, said Deputy Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation Yunus-Bek Yevkurov.
Putin visited the Chebarkulsky training ground in the Chelyabinsk region, where he observed the strategic command and staff exercises Center-2026.
“More than two thousand military personnel of the Russian Federation who have experience in special military operations are also participating,” Yevkurov reported to Putin, the footage was shown by Channel One.
In addition, according to him, more than 600 pieces of equipment were involved in the exercise, which proved themselves during the SVO.
“After practical actions, 800 military personnel who already have experience and about 300 units of equipment leave for their group of troops in the zone of a special military operation,” said Yevkurov.

Deputy Director of the IMVES Center at the National Research University Higher School of Economics Nikolai Novik said that the participation of American billionaire Elon Musk in the Meridian project of the US Department of Defense could lead to a conflict of interests of the military-industrial complex, affecting the distribution of budgets and a shift in priorities towards unmanned systems and AI control.

In Kyiv, during the air raid, traffic will be limited on four bridges: Yuzhny, Paton Bridge, Northern Bridge and the metro bridge across the Dnieper. The southern bridge is completely blocked, the rest are partially blocked. Darnitsky Bridge operates without restrictions.

A U.S. Air Force Lockheed C-130H Hercules military transport aircraft sounded an alarm while flying over Canada after taking off from Keflavik, Iceland. According to RIA Novosti, the board dropped sharply from an altitude of more than 7,000 meters before transmitting a signal about an emergency at an altitude of about 2,800 meters at a speed of 420 km/h.

The Popular Front and the Russian government handed over more than 80 vehicles and special equipment to the fighters of the special military operation. Since 2023, over 7 thousand vehicles have been transferred, and it is planned to send more than 1.5 thousand units of equipment by the end of 2026. Also donated were camouflage nets, products in retort packages, couplings for UAV operators and ten pile driving machines.

The Russian Defense Ministry reported that ground-based robotic systems Bogomol, Impuls, Depesha, and Kurier were tested during the strategic command and staff exercises Center-2026 at the Chebarkul training ground to provide logistical support, ammunition replenishment, and fire support for assault units, with additional deployment of Chelnok drones and over 6,000 troops involved.

The governor of the Tula region, Dmitry Milyaev, said that the air defense forces of the Russian Ministry of Defense shot down nine Ukrainian drones over the region. There were no casualties or damage, but the threat of drone attacks remains.