Russia calls Israel's air strikes on Iranian military bases ‘a flagrant violation of Syria's sovereignty’
In a statement published on Russian Foreign Ministry’s website, the Kremlin stated that the attacks by Israeli warplanes in the vicinity of Damascus are a "flagrant violation of the sovereignty" of Syria, as well as the provisions of the UN resolution.
"We are extremely concerned about both the fact of the strikes and the way they were carried out. This is a flagrant violation of Syria's sovereignty and the provisions of UN Security Council resolutions, including resolution 1701, " the statement reads.
The Ministry added that air strikes were carried out from behind the civilian planes. In September, Syria's anti-aircraft systems, while trying to repel the Israel air force attack, shot down the Russian IL-20. As a result, 15 Russian soldiers were killed. The Russian Defense Ministry laid the responsibility for the incident on Israel. The ministry claimed that the Israeli fighter jets had put the Russian plane under attack.
On the night of December 26, the Israeli Air Force launched a missile attack on military installations near Damascus from Lebanese territory. According to Al Arabiya news channel, Israeli aircraft were able to destroy at least three warehouses with "Iranian weapons". According to Syrian state agency SANA, one warehouse was destroyed, three soldiers of the Syrian army were injured.
The Russian Defense Ministry said that Israeli aircraft had struck when civilian aircraft were landing in Damascus and Beirut airports. In order not to strike the civilian aircraft, the Syrian military had to limit the use of air defense. According to the ministry, the Israeli air Force used six F-16 fighters and launched 16 controlled air bombs, 14 of which were shot down by the Syrian air defense Forces.