Despite Putin's announcement of a withdrawal, Russian air strikes continue in Syria
Russia continues to carry out airstrikes in Syria, despite President Vladimir Putin’s announcement on Monday that the majority of Russian forces would be withdrawn from the war-torn country, Interfax reported.
According to the head of the Main Operations Directorate of the Armed Forces of Russia, Lieutenant-General Sergey Rudskoy, Russian aircraft continue to carry out airstrikes against the so-called Islamic State and al-Nusra Front in support of Syrian government forces in the territory around Palmyra.
Rudskoy stated that Russian aircraft carry out 20-25 sorties daily as part of “a large scale operation to liberate the city [Palmyra], carried out by government forces and patriotic forces with the support of Russian aviation.”
Although Putin announced that the majority of Russian forces would be withdrawn from Syria, Russia has decided to retain its airbase in Khmeymim and has upgraded its naval facility in Tartus.
During a press conference on Thursday, Putin stated that Russian military forces will continue to be active in Syria, and issued a warning to other countries carrying out airstrikes in the area.
"Our bases in Syria's Tartus and Khmeymim are reliably protected from land, sea and air. The personnel of these bases will continue their service here. All components of the expanded system of the air defense, including complexes of the short-range 'Pantsir-F' and the long range ‘Triumph S-400’ will be held on permanent combat duty," Putin said. He added that "all partners are alerted and know that our defense system will be applied for any purpose that we deem to be a threat to Russian military personnel."
Though Russia has insisted that their forces in Syria have targeted positions of the so-called Islamic State and al-Nusra Front, they have been accused of bombing moderate, western-backed opposition groups. Amnesty International has accused the Russian military of deliberately targeting civilian areas in Syria, resulting in some of the most “egregious war crimes” the human rights organization has seen in decades.