Russia sent 4 Su-34 fighter-bombers to its base in Syria
DAMASCUS, (BM) – Russia’s Aviapro news agency claims in its report that Moscow has delivered four fighter-bombers to the Kmeimim airbase in Syria. Today, the delivery took place on March 19, 2021, after five Tu-154 military transport planes landed at the base.
Analysts say the appearance of the Su-34 is very unusual, especially for military action in Syria. Some suggest that the Russian Su-34s will be fighter jets that will “fight” Turkish armored vehicles in Idlib and Latakia. A source from the Russian Ministry of Defense, who was on board one of the five transport planes, said they took off from the Volga airport near Astrakhan and flew over the Caspian Sea.
There are two versions in the Russian media. This will be Moscow’s response to Ankara after Erdogan begins sending massive Turkish armored vehicles to the Arab republic again. The second version is that this is a rotation of Russian troops on the territory of Syria. We have seen similar American’ processes, who rotate their troops in Iraq and Syria almost every three months.
Russia uses ballistic missiles in Syria
Russia has increased its use of artillery and ballistic missiles in recent days. On March 5, the Russian military attacked oil convoys and depots destined for Turkey. Two types of ballistic missiles were used – Iskander and Tochka-U OTRK. The attacks took place nearly 1.5km from the Turkish border.
It is alleged (SOHR source – ed.) That the Russians fired the Iskander ballistic missile from their Khmeimim airbase, locates 250 km from the attacked positions. Iskander is a quasi-ballistic missile with medium range.
War in Syria
In February 2020, Turkey lost at least 62 troops killed in Syria. Nearly 100 soldiers were wounded, Syrian-backed forces destroyed dozens of Turkish armored vehicles, and more than ten drones, including drones, were shot down. Washington has repeatedly accused Moscow of involvement in the deaths of Turkish soldiers, Russia rejects these allegations.
In early March, the presidents of Russia and Turkey, Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan, agreed that a ceasefire came into force in the Idlib de-escalation zone. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad later said that if the US and Turkish military did not leave the country, Damascus would use power.
The reason for the Russian-Turkish negotiations was a sharp aggravation of the situation in Idlib, where in January, a large-scale offensive by the Syrian army against the positions of the armed opposition and terrorists began.
Government forces recaptured nearly half of the Idlib de-escalation zone and left behind several Turkish observation posts. After that, Ankara sharply increased its military contingent in the region and launched the operation “Spring Shield” to push the Syrian troops. Militants are loyal to Ankara and support Turkey.
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