3,000 Troops, 5 Ships: Key Pact Allows India, Russia To Share Military Bases

India and Russia can now share army bases, ports, and air bases and station up to 3,000 military personnel in each other's territory, as the Indo-Russian Reciprocal Exchange of Logistics Agreement (RELOS) - signed between New Delhi and Moscow in February 2025 - has become operational.

The pact was signed in Moscow to boost military cooperation and logistics support between India and one of its most reliable allies. The agreement, under which India and Moscow agreed to station five battleships, ten fighter planes and 3,000 soldiers on each other's soil, will remain in effect for 5 years and can be extended, reported the Russian news agency, Sputnik.

The bilateral agreement extends India's strategic reach to the Arctic region -- which is fast becoming the global maritime hotspot, as Russia and China have been increasing their presence in the vast maritime wilderness.

New Delhi will be able to access the massive ports in Russia's Murmansk and Severomorsk.

Moscow is eyeing logistics cooperation from the Indian Navy in the Indian Ocean. The pact will provide Russia with support like refuelling, repair, spare parts and supplies.

🚨🇮🇳🇷🇺 India and Russia agree to station up to 3K troops on each other's territory

Up to 3,000 military personnel could be stationed on each other's soil at any one time, in a significant boost to defence cooperation between the two long-standing strategic partners.

The… pic.twitter.com/YnD6XCCtY6

— Sputnik India (@Sputnik_India) April 18, 2026

The pact, which will be operational in war and peacetime, allows the two nations to save money and time in long-distance missions.

India has signed a similar agreement with the United States. Called LEMOA, or Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement, the pact allows reciprocal access to military facilities for refuelling, supplies and logistics support. However, it differs from RELOS due to the provision of stationing troops. RELOS also allows the exchange of goods if required.

Under RELOS, cost reimbursement, meaning bartering instead of payment, is also possible.

RELOS and LEMOA highlight India's multi-alignment policy.

Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), a Swedish think tank, said in a 2025 report that Russia remained the biggest arms supplier of equipment and systems for the Indian Armed Forces. It noted that between 2020 and 2024, India was the world's second-largest arms importer, with Russia contributing 36 per cent to the country's total defence purchase during the period.