Russian intervention in the Syrian civil war
[163][164][165] For Russia, the intervention has swelled its position in the great-power competition with the United States, guaranteed access to the Eastern Mediterranean, and bolstered its capacity to conduct military operations across the wider region, such as the Red Sea and Libya.Other objectives included showcasing Russian military prowess by guarding its naval port in Tartus and project Russia's expanding influence across West Asia, North Africa, Europe and Eastern Mediterranean.[184] Ba'athist regime had lost vast swathes of territories by 2015; including Idlib, Aleppo, Raqqa, Deir Az Zor, Al-Hasakah, Deraa, and Quneitra governorates; in addition to being further pushed back in Hama, Damascus and Homs provinces by the Syrian opposition.According to Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov's statement made in mid-October 2015, prior to the start of its operations in Syria, Russia invited the United States to join the Baghdad-based information center but received what he called an "unconstructive" response.[209][210] In 2024 after fall of Assad Russian journalist Irina Alksnis, writing for RIA, justified Russia's intervention nearly in the same words, listing "ruining Western plans of anti-Russian games in the energy sector" among the benefits.[257] At around the same time, Russia announced that it was preparing for more jet fighters and a new Russian combat brigade to be stationed at Shayrat Airbase in Homs once in service for aiding the Syrian government troops in their ongoing offensive against ISIL.[258] On 29 November 2015, Russian aircraft were reported to have struck targets in the Syrian Idlib province, including the town of Ariha that had been captured by the Army of Conquest 6 months prior, causing multiple casualties on the ground.[261] On 1 December 2015, The Times, citing local sources and news media, reported that Russia was preparing to expand its military operations in Syria by opening the al-Shayrat airbase near the city of Homs, already home to Russian attack helicopters and a team that had arrived about a month prior.[284][285] At the end of January 2016, Russia, for the first time, deployed four Su-35S fighter jets, presumably equipped with the Khibiny electronic countermeasures (ECM) systems,[92] to the Khmeimim base; on 1 February the Russian defence ministry said the aircraft had begun conducting missions in Syria.[287][288] In early February 2016, intensive Russian strikes contributed to the success of the Syrian army and its allies' offensive operation to the northwest of Aleppo that severed a major rebel supply line to Turkey.[303] In early May 2016, news media reported that Russian ground forces had set up what Jane's Information Group called a ″forward operating base″ (officially a base for the mining crews) just to the west of the city of Tadmur, and installed an air-defence system to protect the site.[306][307][308] However, United States media cited intelligence community sources as believing the destruction was caused by an accidental fuel tank explosion, that the Stratfor analysis was wrong and that there were no indications of an ISIS attack on the airport.[323] On 15 October 2016, the aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov sailed from Kola Bay at the centre of a task group, which included the Kirov-class missile cruiser Pyotr Velikiy, a pair of Udaloy-class destroyers and other vessels, to deploy to the Mediterranean in support of Russian forces operating in Syria.[431] On 24 November 2019, the Syrian Arab Army, supported by Russian airstrikes, launched "phase one" of the offensive against the rebels' stronghold in the Idlib province, which was officially announced on 19 December following the collapse of ceasefire agreements.[440] Meanwhile, Russia ratcheted up efforts through both official statements and state-sponsored mass media aiming to drive home the message that Turkey itself was to blame for its fatalities as Turkish forces were not supposed to be in Syria in the first place.[446] On 26 October 2020, the Russian airstrike on a training base run by Faylaq al-Sham, a major rebel group backed by Turkey, in the town of Kafr Takharim was reported to have killed at least 78 Turkish-backed militia fighters.The airstrikes were however limited and instead bombed civilian targets in the Idlib and Hama regions,[459][460] specifically urban neighbourhoods and refugee camps, including Morek, Khan Sheikhoun, Kanfranbel, Hazarin and Tal Kawkabah.By the time of the withdrawal of the "main part" of its forces in mid-March, Russia had conducted over 9,000 sorties over the course of five and a half months, while helping the Syrian Army capture 400 towns and regain 10,000 square kilometres of territory."[491] In January 2016, a few months after the start of Russia's involvement in Syria, diplomat Ranjit Gupta wrote in The Commonwealth Journal of International Affairs, that the Russian reinforcement was a "godsend for Assad, greatly boosting the regime's sagging morale and that of its armed forces."[492] Gupta continued: With robust air cover provided by Russian airstrikes Assad's forces can start liberating and holding territory, particularly in the extremely strategically vital corridor connecting Damascus and Aleppo.[492]In February 2016, Professor Fawaz A. Gerges of the London School of Economics opined the Russian military intervention had turned out to be a game-changer in the Syrian Civil War:[493] ″Mr Putin's decision to intervene in Syria and shore up Mr Assad with new fighter jets, military advisers and advanced weapons stopped the bleeding of the Syrian army and allowed it to shift from defence to offence.″[493] Vincent R. Stewart, Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, stated in February 2016 that the "Russian reinforcement has changed the calculus completely" and added that Assad "is in a much stronger negotiating position than he was just six months ago".[511] Russian bombardment campaigns have caused enormous destruction of public infrastructure, religious buildings, heritage sites, industrial areas, residential places; in addition to massive amounts of civilian casualties; which has aggravated the Syrian refugee crisis.[520] In March 2016, Amnesty International reported that the Russian aerial bombing campaign in opposition-held territories involved the methodical targeting of hospitals and medical facilities, describing it as a calculated "military strategy" to forcibly displace civilian inhabitants.[532] In June 2016, Russia Today, while reporting minister Shoigu's visit to Hmeymim air base, showed incendiary cluster bombs being loaded onto Russian airplanes, identified as RBK-500 ZAB-2.5SM due to clearly visible markings.[541] A 2020 report by UN Human Rights Council for the first time directly laid responsibility on Russian Air Force of indiscriminate attacks on civilian targets "amounting to a war crime" referring specifically to extensive evidence on the bombing of a refugee shelter in Haas and a market place in Ma'arrat al-Nu'man in summer 2019."[585] United States President Barack Obama, at a news conference on 2 October, underscored the coalition statement by saying the Russian action was driving moderate opposition groups underground, and would result in "only strengthening" ISIL.[586] In 2017, the Inter-parliamentary Assembly of the Community for Democracy and Rights of Nations, an international organization consisting of the only partially recognized republics Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Transnistria, adopted a joint statement in which supported the policy of the Russian Federation in Syria.[607] United Kingdom – Prime Minister David Cameron said "It's absolutely clear that Russia is not discriminating between ISIL and the legitimate Syrian opposition groups and, as a result, they are actually backing the butcher Assad and helping him"."[623] Numerous politicians, journalists, religious leaders, intellectuals and human rights activists across the Arab World have condemned Russian Orthodox Church's framing of Putin's military intervention as a "holy war", drawing parallels with medieval Crusades.[632] Influential cleric Yusuf al-Qaradawi, chairman of International Union for Muslim Scholars, stated: "If we defend our homelands and our homes in the name of Islam, which we believe in, we are accused of terrorism, yet Russia is bombing Syria and the opposition under the auspices of holy war.
foreign involvementSyrian civil warwar against the Islamic StateSyrian Government ArmySyrian National Army & othersSyrian Democratic ForcesTahrir al-ShamIslamic Statefall of the Assad regime2024 opposition offensivesTartus naval baseKhmeimim Air BaseRussiaSyrian Arab RepublicArmeniaTurkeyOperation Euphrates ShieldAl-QaedaAl-Nusra FrontJund al-AqsaGuardians of ReligionArmy of ConquestSaudi ArabiaSyrian Salvation GovernmentSyrian oppositionFree Syrian ArmySyrian Turkmen BrigadesJaysh al-IslamUnited StatesVladimir PutinSergey ShoyguValery GerasimovViktor BondarevAleksandr DvornikovAlexander ZhuravlyovAndrey KartapolovSergey SurovikinSergey KuralenkoAleksandr LapinAndrey SerdyukovAleksandr ChaikoSergey KuzovlevYevgeny NikiforovRoman BerdnikovSergey KiselValery AsapovAbu Muhammad al-ShimaliKhalid al-AruriAbu Humam al-ShamiSami al-OraydiSaif al-AdelSari ShihabAbu Hafs al-Hashimi al-QurashiAbu al-Hussein al-Husseini al-QurashiAbu al-Hasan al-Hashimi al-QurashiAbu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-QurashiAbu Bakr al-BaghdadiAbu Mohammad al-AdnaniAbu Suleiman al-NaserAbu Omar al-ShishaniGulmurod KhalimovAbu Yahia al-HamawiZahran AlloushAhmed al-SharaaAbdullah al-MuhaysiniAbu JaberAhrar al-ShamRussian Armed ForcesAerospace ForcesRussian NavyBlack Sea FleetCaspian FlotillaMain Intelligence Directorate (GRU)Special operations forcesMilitary PoliceForeign Intelligence Service (SVR)Federal Security Service (FSB)Wagner GroupInterbrigadesKadyrovitesIslamic Republic of Iran Armed ForcesIranian ArmyArmed Forces of Armenia12th Peacekeeping BrigadeTurkistan Islamic Party in SyriaMilitary of ISLevant FrontFree Idlib ArmyMountain Hawks Brigade13th DivisionNorthern DivisionJaish al-IzzahJaysh al-NasrHarakat Nour al-Din al-ZenkiAhrar ash-ShamLiwa al-HaqqAjnad al-ShamSham LegionMalhama TacticalNaval shipsVishnya-classImproved Kilo-classSlava-classKuznetsov-classKirov-classUdaloy-classStrategic bombersTu-22M3Tu-95MSMTu-160Tactical bombersAttack bombersFighter aircraftMiG-29SMTReconnaissance aircraftIl-20M1Attack helicopterMi-24P/35MUtility helicopterOrlan-10ForpostIveco Rys'9K720 IskanderS-300VMVityaz (S-350E)Iraqi Kurdistan