Center-2026
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Russia holds main stage of Center-2026 drills in Chelyabinsk Oblast, rehearsing 'security zone' in Central Asia
On 2 October, Russia conducted the main stage of the Center-2026 strategic military exercises at the Chebarkul training ground in Chelyabinsk Oblast. The scenario involved Russian and Chinese forces practicing the creation of a 'security zone' on the territory of a neighboring Central Asian state. Vladimir Putin attended the final stage, and Russian officials acknowledged that troops were using experience from the war in Ukraine.