{{Infobox military conflict , partof = the foreign involvement in the Syrian civil war,
and the

war against the Islamic State Many states began to intervene against the Islamic State, in both the Syrian civil war and the War in Iraq (2013–2017), in response to its rapid territorial gains from its Northern Iraq offensive (June 2014), 2014 Northern Iraq offensives, u ...

, image = , image_size = , border = , caption = Various military operations carried out via sea, air and land in Syria , date = 30 September 2015 – 8 December 2024
({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=09, day1=30, year1=2015) , place = Syria , width = 300px , coordinates = , map_type = , map_relief = , latitude = , longitude = , map_size = , map_marksize = , map_caption = , map_label = , territory = , result = Syrian opposition victory * Russian forces fail to prevent the

fall of the Assad regime On 8 December 2024, the Assad regime collapsed during a 2024 Syrian opposition offensives, major offensive by Syrian opposition, opposition forces. The offensive was spearheaded by Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and supported mainly by the Turk ...

* Russian forces begin withdrawal after the 2024 opposition offensives * Continued Russian presence at the Tartus naval base and Khmeimim Air Base *

Islamic State The Islamic State (IS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Daesh, is a transnational Salafi jihadism, Salafi jihadist organization and unrecognized quasi-state. IS ...

loses all territory in Syria , status = , combatants_header = , combatant1 = {{flag, Russia
{{flag, Iran
{{flag, Ba'athist Syria, name=Syrian Arab Republic
Humanitarian support:
{{flag, Armenia

{{flagicon image, Flag of Syrian Democratic Forces.svg

Syrian Democratic Forces The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) is a Kurds in Syria, Kurdish-led coalition of U.S.-backed Left-wing politics, left-wing ethnic militias and rebel groups, and serves as the official military wing of the Democratic Autonomous Administration ...

(2016–2017) , combatant2 = {{Collapsible list, title={{flag, Syrian opposition, titlestyle=font-weight:normal;background:transparent;text-align:left;, *{{flagicon image, Flag of the Syrian Salvation Government.svg

Syrian Salvation Government The Syrian Salvation Government (SSG) was a '' de facto'' unrecognized quasi-state in Syria formed on 2 November 2017 by Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and other opposition groups during the Syrian civil war. It controlled much of northwest S ...

Tahrir al-Sham Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) was a Sunni Islamist political organisation and paramilitary group involved in the Syrian civil war. It was formed on 28January 2017 as a merger between several armed groups: Jaysh al-Ahrar (an Ahrar al-Sham facti ...

(2017–2025) *{{flagicon, Syrian opposition

Syrian Interim Government The Syrian Interim Government (Arabic: الحكومة السورية المؤقتة; ''Ḥukūmat as-Sūriyya al-Muwaqqata'') was a government-in-exile and later a quasi-state in Syria formed on 18 March 2013 by the National Coalition of Syria ...

**{{flagicon, Syrian opposition

Free Syrian Army The Free Syrian Army (FSA; ) is a Big tent, big-tent coalition of decentralized Syrian opposition (2011–2024), Syrian opposition rebel groups in the Syrian civil war founded on 29 July 2011 by Colonel Riad al-Asaad and six officers who defe ...

{{cite web, url=https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/09/30/Russia-launches-airstrikes-against-ISIS-in-Syria.html, title=Russia unleashes first wave of airstrikes in Syria, date=30 September 2015, publisher=Al Arabiya, access-date=3 October 2015, archive-date=9 June 2019, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190609011801/http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/09/30/Russia-launches-airstrikes-against-ISIS-in-Syria.html, url-status=live ** {{flagicon, Syrian opposition

Syrian National Army The Syrian National Army (SNA; ), also known as the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army (TFSA), is a coalition of armed Syrian opposition groups that participate in the Syrian civil war. Comprising various rebel factions that emerged at the sta ...

{{Collapsible list, title=Supported by:, titlestyle=font-weight:normal;background:transparent;text-align:left;, {{flag, Turkey{{cite news , url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/syria-crisis-turkey-and-saudi-arabia-shock-western-countries-by-supporting-antiassad-jihadists-10242747.html , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150513214636/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/syria-crisis-turkey-and-saudi-arabia-shock-western-countries-by-supporting-antiassad-jihadists-10242747.html , archive-date=13 May 2015 , title=Turkey and Saudi Arabia by backing Islamist extremists the Americans had bombed in Syria , author=Kim Sengupta , newspaper=The Independent , date=12 May 2015
{{flag, Qatar{{cite news , url=http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/News/12392/21/Gulf-allies-and-%E2%80%98Army-of-Conquest%E2%80%99.aspx , title=Gulf allies and 'Army of Conquest' , author=Gareth Porter , newspaper=

Al-Ahram Weekly ''Al-Ahram Weekly'' is an English-language weekly broadsheet printed by the Al-Ahram Publishing House in Cairo, Egypt. History and profile ''Al Ahram Weekly'' was established in 1991 by the ''Al-Ahram'' newspaper, which also runs a French-langu ...

, date=28 May 2015 , author-link=Gareth Porter , archive-date=19 September 2015 , access-date=9 October 2015 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150919055514/http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/News/12392/21/Gulf-allies-and-%E2%80%98Army-of-Conquest%E2%80%99.aspx , url-status=live
{{flag, Ukraine

{{flag, United States
(2015–2017) ---- {{flagicon image, Flag of Syrian Democratic Forces.svg

( 2017–present) , combatant3 = {{flagicon, Islamic State

{{flagicon image, Flag of Jihad.svg {{Collapsible list, title=

Al-Qaeda , image = Flag of Jihad.svg , caption = Jihadist flag, Flag used by various al-Qaeda factions , founder = Osama bin Laden{{Assassinated, Killing of Osama bin Laden , leaders = {{Plainlist, * Osama bin Lad ...

, titlestyle=font-weight:normal;background:transparent;text-align:left;, * {{flagicon image, Flag of the Al-Nusra Front.svg

Al-Nusra Front Al-Nusra Front or Jabhat al-Nusra or Jabhat Nusrat Ahl al-Sham, also known as Front for the Conquest of the Levant, and also later known as Jabhat Fatah al-Sham was a Salafi-jihadist organization that fought against Ba'athist Syria, Ba'athist ...

(2013–2016) * {{flagicon image , Flag of Jabhat Fatah al-Sham.svg Jabhat Fath al-Sham (2016–2017) * {{flagicon image , Flag of Jund al-Aqsa.svg

Jund al-Aqsa Jund al-Aqsa ( ''Jund al-‘Aqṣā'', "Soldiers of al-Aqsa"), known as Liwa al-Aqsa after 7 February 2017, was a Salafist jihadist organization that was active during the Syrian Civil War. Formerly known as Sarayat al-Quds, the group was founde ...

(2017–2018) * {{flagicon image, Flag of Tanzim Hurras al-Din.svg Guardians of Religion (2018–2025) , commander1 = {{flagicon, Russia

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served as President of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served as Prime Minister of Ru ...

{{flagicon, Russia Sergei Shoigu
{{flagicon, Russia

Valery Gerasimov Valery Vasilyevich Gerasimov (born 8 September 1955) is a Russian Army general (Russia), army general serving as the Chief of the General Staff (Russia), Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces and First Deputy Ministry of Defen ...

{{Collapsible list, title=Others, titlestyle=font-weight:normal;background:transparent;text-align:left;, {{flagicon, Russia

Viktor Bondarev Viktor Nikolayevich Bondarev (; born 7 December 1959) is a retired Russian colonel general and former Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Aerospace Forces (1 August 2015 – 26 September 2017), and the former Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force ...

{{flagicon, Russia {{Interlanguage link, Sergey Rudskoy, ru, Рудской, Сергей Фёдорович
{{small, (Chief of Gen Staff. Ops. Dept.)
{{flagicon, Russia

Aleksandr Dvornikov Aleksandr Vladimirovich Dvornikov (; born 22 August 1961) is a former Russian army general (Russia), army general who commanded the Russian military intervention in the Syrian civil war, Russian military intervention in Syria and the Russian in ...

{{small, (September 2015 – June 2016)
{{flagicon, Russia

Alexander Zhuravlyov Colonel General Alexander Alexandrovich Zhuravlyov (; born 5 December 1965) is a Russian Ground Forces officer who has commanded the military force in Syria during the Russian military intervention in Syria, Russian military intervention in the ...

{{small, (July–December 2016)
{{flagicon, Russia Andrey Kartapolov
{{small, (December 2016 – March 2017)
{{flagicon, Russia Sergey Surovikin
{{small, (March–December 2017)
{{flagicon, Russia Alexander Zhuravlyov
{{small, (December 2017 – September 2018)
{{flagicon, Russia Sergey Kuralenko
{{small, (September–October 2018)
{{flagicon, Russia Aleksandr Lapin
{{small, (October 2018 – January 2019)
{{flagicon, Russia Sergey Surovikin
{{small, (January–April 2019)
{{flagicon, Russia Andrey SerdyukovКомандующего ВДВ десантировали в Сирию. Российские силы в республике возглавил Андрей Сердюков
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190630195834/https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/3940399 , date=30 June 2019 Kommersant, 12 April 2019.
{{small, (April–September 2019)
{{flagicon, Russia Aleksandr ChaikoМинобороны РФ сменило командующего российской группировкой в Сирии
Interfax, 13 November 2019.
{{small, (September 2019 – November 2020)
{{flagicon, Russia Sergey Kuzovlev
{{small, (November 2020 – February 2021)
{{flagicon, Russia Aleksandr Chaiko
{{small, (February–June 2021)
{{flagicon, Russia Yevgeny Nikiforov
{{small, (June–October 2021)
{{flagicon, Russia Roman Berdnikov
{{small, (October 2021 – September 2022)
{{flagicon, Russia Andrey Serdyukov
{{small, (September 2022 – November 2023)
{{flagicon, Russia Sergey Kisel
{{small, (November 2023 – November 2024)
{{flagicon, Russia Valery Asapov{{KIA
{{flagicon, Russia Vyacheslav Gladich{{KIA , commander2 = {{flagicon image, Flag of the Syrian Salvation Government.svg

Ahmed al-Sharaa Ahmed Hussein al-Sharaa (born 29 October 1982) also known by his ''nom de guerre'' Abu Mohammad al-Julani, is a Syrian politician and former rebel commander serving as the president of Syria since January 2025. He previously served as the coun ...

{{Collapsible list, title=Others, titlestyle=font-weight:normal;background:transparent;text-align:left;, Abdullah al-Muhaysini {{small, (Top sharia judge of the Army of Conquest; later a senior member of Tahrir al-Sham)
Abu Jaber {{small, (Second Emir of Ahrar al-Sham, First Emir and current

Shura Shura () is the term for collective decision-making in Islam. It can, for example, take the form of a council or a referendum. The Quran encourages Muslims to decide their affairs in consultation with each other. Shura is mentioned as a praise ...

head of Tahrir al-Sham)
Flag of the Al-Nusra Front

Salahuddin Shishani{{KIA {{small, (Former al-Nusra Front commander and current Tahrir al-Sham top military commander)
Abu Salman al-Belarusi (Abu Rofiq){{KIA {{small, (Leader of Malhama Tactical)
Abu Ubeidah al-Kansafra{{KIA {{small, (Top military commander of Tahrir al-Sham){{Unreliable source?, date=April 2020
12 unknown military commanders{{KIA {{flagicon, Syrian opposition Abdurrahman Mustafa
{{Collapsible list, title=Others, titlestyle=font-weight:normal;background:transparent;text-align:left;, {{flagicon, Syrian opposition{{Flagicon image} Basil Zamo{{KIA {{small, (1st Coastal Division chief of staff)
{{flagicon, Syrian opposition Logo of Ahrar al-Sham

Abu Yahia al-Hamawi {{small, (Leader of Ahrar al-Sham)
{{flagicon, Syrian opposition Logo of Ahrar al-Sham

Nimr Al-Shukri{{KIA {{small, (Top military commander of Ahrar al-Sham)
{{flagicon image, Flag of Jihad.svg{{flagicon image, Logo of Jaysh al-Islam.jpg

Zahran Alloush Zahran Alloush (, 1971 – 25 December 2015) was a Syrian Islamist rebel leader who was the commander of Jaysh al-Islam (Army of Islam), a major component of the Islamic Front, of which he was the military chief, and was described as one of the ...

{{KIA {{small, (Emir of Jaysh al-Islam)
{{flagicon image, Flag of Jabhat Fatah al-Sham.svg{{flagicon image, Flag of the Turkistan Islamic Party in Syria.svg Abu Rida al-Turkistani{{KIA {{small, (Leader of TIP) , commander3 = {{flagicon, Islamic State Abu Hafs al-Hashimi al-Qurashi
{{Collapsible list, title=Others, titlestyle=font-weight:normal;background:transparent;text-align:left;, {{flagicon, Islamic State Abu al-Hussein al-Husseini al-Qurashi{{KIA {{small, (Leader until 29 April 2023)
{{flagicon, Islamic State Abu al-Hasan al-Hashimi al-Qurashi{{KIA {{small, (Leader until 15 October 2022)
{{flagicon, Islamic State Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi{{KIA {{small, (Leader until 3 February 2022)
{{flagicon, Islamic State

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi Ibrahim Awwad Ibrahim Ali al-Badri (28 July 1971 – 27 October 2019), commonly known by his ''nom de guerre'' Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, was an Iraqi militant leader who was the founder and first leader of the Islamic State (IS), who proclaimed hims ...

{{KIA {{small, (Leader until 27 October 2019)
{{flagdeco, Islamic State Abu Mohammad al-Adnani{{KIA {{small, (Spokesperson)
{{flagdeco, Islamic State Abu Omar al-Shishani{{KIA {{small, (Senior commander in Syria){{cite news, url=http://www.el-balad.com/1244483, agency=ElBalad, title=Kadyrov Claims Red-Bearded Chechen Militant al-Shishani Dead, date=14 November 2014, url-status=dead, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150128064913/http://www.el-balad.com/1244483, archive-date=28 January 2015{{cite news, url=http://www.rferl.org/content/kadyrov-syria-shishani-chechen-death-us-batirashvili/26690236.html, publisher=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, title=Kadyrov Says Islamic State's Leader From Georgia Killed, date=14 November 2014, archive-date=24 September 2015, access-date=3 October 2015, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924140848/http://www.rferl.org/content/kadyrov-syria-shishani-chechen-death-us-batirashvili/26690236.html, url-status=live
{{flagdeco, Islamic State Gulmurod Khalimov{{KIA {{small, (Minister of war in Syria){{cite web, url=http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2017/09/russia-offensive-syria-islamic-state-moscow-washington.html, title=Don't let the Islamic State slip the noose in Syria, access-date=23 September 2017, date=11 September 2017, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170912033518/http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2017/09/russia-offensive-syria-islamic-state-moscow-washington.html, archive-date=12 September 2017
{{flagdeco, Islamic State Abu Musab al-Masri{{KIA {{small, (Minister of war in Syria) {{flagdeco, Islamic State Abu Muhammad al-Shimali{{KIA {{small, (Senior leader) ---- {{flagicon image, Flag of the Al-Nusra Front (Variant).svg{{flagicon image, Flag of Jabhat Fatah al-Sham.svg Abu Hajer al-Homsi{{KIA
{{Collapsible list, title=Others, titlestyle=font-weight:normal;background:transparent;text-align:left;, {{flagicon image, Flag of the Al-Nusra Front (Variant).svg{{flagicon image, Flag of Jabhat Fatah al-Sham.svg Abu Abdollah Jabal{{KIA {{small, (al-Nusra Front senior commander in Aleppo){{unreliable source?,

Fars News Agency The Fars News Agency is a news agency in Iran managed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), one of the three branches of the Islamic Republic of Iran Armed Forces. While it describes itself as "Iran's leading independent news agency" ...

shouldn't be used for rebel/al-Nusra facts, date=May 2023
{{flagicon image, Flag of the Al-Nusra Front (Variant).svg{{flagicon image, Flag of Jabhat Fatah al-Sham.svg Ahmad al-Ghizai{{KIA {{small, (al-Nusra Front security service chief)
{{flagicon image} Khalid al-Aruri{{KIA {{small, ( Guardians of Religion){{cite web, url=https://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2020/06/u-s-reportedly-targets-2-senior-al-qaeda-figures-in-airstrike-in-syria.php, title=U.S. reportedly targets 2 senior al Qaeda figures in airstrike in Syria, website=FDD's Long War Journal, date=14 June 2020, access-date=15 June 2020, archive-date=15 June 2020, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200615083541/https://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2020/06/u-s-reportedly-targets-2-senior-al-qaeda-figures-in-airstrike-in-syria.php, url-status=live
{{flagicon image} Abu Humam al-Shami {{small, ( Guardians of Religion){{cite web, url=https://syrianwardaily.wordpress.com/2018/02/28/syrian-war-daily-28th-of-february-2018/, title=Syrian War Daily – 28th of February 2018, work=Syrian War Daily, date=28 February 2018, author=Joško Barić, access-date=1 March 2018, archive-date=1 March 2018, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180301164331/https://syrianwardaily.wordpress.com/2018/02/28/syrian-war-daily-28th-of-february-2018/, url-status=live{{Self-published inline, date=May 2023
{{flagicon image} Sami al-Oraydi {{small, ( Guardians of Religion)
{{flagicon image}

Saif al-Adel Mohamed Salah al-Din al-Halim Zaidan (; born 11 April 1960/1963), commonly known by his ''nom de guerre'' Saif al-Adel (), is an Egyptian Islamic militant who is the '' de facto'' leader of al-Qaeda. Previously an Egyptian Army officer, Al-Adel ...

{{small, ( Guardians of Religion)
{{flagicon image} Abu 'Abd al-Karim al-Masri {{small, ( Guardians of Religion)
{{flagicon image} Sari Shihab{{KIA {{small, ( Guardians of Religion)
{{flagicon image} Abu Adnan al-Homsi{{KIA {{small, (former logistics and equipment commander, Guardians of Religion) , units1 =

Russian Armed Forces The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, commonly referred to as the Russian Armed Forces, are the military of Russia. They are organized into three service branches—the Russian Ground Forces, Ground Forces, Russian Navy, Navy, and Russi ...

:
{{Collapsible list, title=Units, titlestyle=font-weight:normal;background:transparent;text-align:left;, * Aerospace Forces *

Russian Navy The Russian Navy is the Navy, naval arm of the Russian Armed Forces. It has existed in various forms since 1696. Its present iteration was formed in January 1992 when it succeeded the Navy of the Commonwealth of Independent States (which had i ...

Black Sea Fleet The Black Sea Fleet () is the Naval fleet, fleet of the Russian Navy in the Black Sea, the Sea of Azov and the Mediterranean Sea. The Black Sea Fleet, along with other Russian ground and air forces on the Crimea, Crimean Peninsula, are subordin ...

Caspian Flotilla The Caspian Flotilla () is the flotilla of the Russian Navy in the Caspian Sea. Established in November 1722 by the order of Tsar Peter the Great as part of the Imperial Russian Navy, the Caspian Flotilla is the oldest flotilla in the Russian ...

Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU) Main Intelligence Directorate ( rus, Главное разведывательное управление, Glavnoye razvedyvatel'noye upravleniye, ˈglavnəjə rɐzˈvʲɛdɨvətʲɪlʲnəjə ʊprɐˈvlʲenʲɪjə), abbreviated GRU ( rus, ГР ...

Special operations forces Special forces or special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equip ...

Military Police Military police (MP) are law enforcement agencies connected with, or part of, the military of a state. Not to be confused with civilian police, who are legally part of the civilian populace. In wartime operations, the military police may supp ...

* Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) ** {{Interlanguage link, Zaslon (SVR), ru, Заслон (спецподразделение), lt=Zaslon * Federal Security Service (FSB) ** Spetsgruppa "K" advisorsFour FSB special forces officers reportedly killed in Syria
{{Webarchive, url=https://archive.today/20200203212422/https://meduza.io/en/news/2020/02/03/four-fsb-special-forces-officers-reportedly-killed-in-syria , date=3 February 2020
4 Russian Special Forces Officers Killed in Syria – Reports
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220331003755/https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2020/02/03/4-russian-special-forces-officers-killed-in-syria-reports-a69139 , date=31 March 2022 *

Wagner Group The Wagner Group (), officially known as PMC Wagner (, ), is a Russian state-funded private military company (PMC) controlled 2023 Wagner Group plane crash, until 2023 by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a former close ally of Russia's president Vladimir Pu ...

Interbrigades The Interbrigades () is a volunteer movement organized by the unregistered Russian National Bolshevism, National Bolshevik political party The Other Russia of E. V. Limonov, "The Other Russia" to participate in the War in Donbas (2014–2022), ...

* Kadyrovites * Thorbrandr Islamic Republic of Iran Armed Forces:
{{Collapsible list, title=Units, titlestyle=font-weight:normal;background:transparent;text-align:left;, *

IRGC The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), also known as the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, is a multi-service primary branch of the Iranian Armed Forces. It was officially established by Ruhollah Khomeini as a military branch in May 1979 i ...

Basij The Basij (, lit. ''The Mobilization'') or Sâzmân-e Basij-e Mostaz'afin (, lit. ''Organization for Mobilization of the Oppressed''), is a paramilitary volunteer militia within the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and one of its five ...

* Iranian Army

Armed Forces of Armenia The Armed Forces of the Republic of Armenia (, abbreviated ՀՀ ԶՈՒ, ''HH ZU''), sometimes referred to as the Armenian Army (), is the national military of Armenia. It consists of personnel branches under the General Staff of the Armenian Arme ...

: * 12th Peacekeeping Brigade , units2 =

(2017–present)
{{Collapsible list, title=Units, titlestyle=font-weight:normal;background:transparent;text-align:left;, * Liwa al-Haqq

(2015–17){{cite web, url=http://syriadirect.org/news/search-for-the-dead-begins-in-idlib-after-islamic-state-linked-brigade-leaves-for-raqqa/, title=Search for the dead begins in Idlib after Islamic State-linked brigade leaves for Raqqa, website=Syria Direct, date=22 February 2017, access-date=24 February 2017, archive-date=19 April 2017, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170419043650/http://syriadirect.org/news/search-for-the-dead-begins-in-idlib-after-islamic-state-linked-brigade-leaves-for-raqqa/, url-status=live
Ajnad al-Sham (2015–17)

Sham Legion The Sham Legion (, ''Faylaq al-Shām'' lit. Levant Legion) was an alliance of Sunni Islamist rebel groups formed in March 2014, during the Syrian Civil War. The alliance was formed from 19 different groups, some of which were previously affil ...

Malhama Tactical
(since 2017) ----

{{Collapsible list, title=Units, titlestyle=font-weight:normal;background:transparent;text-align:left;, * Levant Front *

Free Idlib Army The Free Idlib Army ( ''Jaysh ʾIdlib al-Ḥarr'') was a Syrian rebel coalition consisting of 3 armed groups from northwestern Syria affiliated with the Free Syrian Army: the 13th Division (Syrian rebel group), 13th Division, the Northern Divisio ...

** Mountain Hawks Brigade{{cite news, url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-russia-syria-idUSKCN0RV41O20151001, title=Iran troops to join Syria war, Russia bombs group trained by CIA, work=Reuters, date=1 October 2015, archive-date=19 May 2017, access-date=1 July 2017, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170519172639/http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-russia-syria-idUSKCN0RV41O20151001, url-status=live ** 13th Division ** Northern Division *

Jaish al-Izzah The Army of Glory (), formerly the Union of Glory (), was an Sunni Islamist Syrian rebel group affiliated with the Free Syrian Army active in northwestern Syria, mainly in the al-Ghab Plain in northern Hama Governorate, Hama and its surroundings ...

* Jaysh al-Nasr * Harakat Nour al-Din al-Zenki (2015–19) * Ahrar ash-Sham * Syrian Turkmen Brigades *

Jaysh al-Islam Jaysh al-Islam (, meaning ''Army of Islam''), formerly known as Liwa al-Islam (, Brigade of Islam), is a coalition of Islamist rebel units involved in the Syrian Civil War. The group was part of the Free Syrian Army's Supreme Military Counc ...

{{cite news , last=Fisk , first=Robert , url=https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/syria-s-moderates-have-disappeared-and-there-are-no-good-guys-a6679406.html , title=Syria's 'moderates' have disappeared... and there are no good guys , work=The Independent , date=4 October 2015 , access-date=8 October 2015 , archive-date=8 October 2015 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151008001613/http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/syria-s-moderates-have-disappeared-and-there-are-no-good-guys-a6679406.html , url-status=live , units3 = Military of IS ----

Al Qaeda , image = Flag of Jihad.svg , caption = Jihadist flag, Flag used by various al-Qaeda factions , founder = Osama bin Laden{{Assassinated, Killing of Osama bin Laden , leaders = {{Plainlist, * Osama bin Lad ...

{{Collapsible list, title=Units, titlestyle=font-weight:normal;background:transparent;text-align:left;,

al-Nusra Front Al-Nusra Front or Jabhat al-Nusra or Jabhat Nusrat Ahl al-Sham, also known as Front for the Conquest of the Levant, and also later known as Jabhat Fatah al-Sham was a Salafi-jihadist organization that fought against Ba'athist Syria, Ba'athist ...

(2015–17) Turkistan Islamic Party in Syria Guardians of Religion , strength1 = Troop strength
20,000 personnel{{efn, Including

and Wagner PMC.{{cite news , title=Wagner groups in Syria since its formation until the expulsion from al-Rahma , url=https://www.syriahr.com/%d9%85%d8%ac%d9%85%d9%88%d8%b9%d8%a7%d8%aa-%d9%81%d8%a7%d8%ba%d9%86%d8%b1-%d9%81%d9%8a-%d8%b3%d9%88%d8%b1%d9%8a%d8%a7-%d9%85%d9%86%d8%b0-%d8%aa%d9%83%d9%88%d9%8a%d9%86%d9%87%d8%a7-%d9%88%d8%ad%d8%aa/614878/ , access-date=29 June 2023 , quote=It is noteworthy that the Russian Ministry of Defense stated in 2017 that there are about 6,000 military personnel, noting that this number does not include the Russian police forces that were established by decree of President Vladimir Putin in 2015, while the real number of Russian military personnel in Syria exceeded 20,000 fighters and military advisers affiliated with of land, air and sea forces. , publisher=SOHR , date=29 June 2023 , archive-date=29 June 2023 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230629195854/https://www.syriahr.com/%D9%85%D8%AC%D9%85%D9%88%D8%B9%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D9%81%D8%A7%D8%BA%D9%86%D8%B1-%D9%81%D9%8A-%D8%B3%D9%88%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%A7-%D9%85%D9%86%D8%B0-%D8%AA%D9%83%D9%88%D9%8A%D9%86%D9%87%D8%A7-%D9%88%D8%AD%D8%AA/614878/ , url-status=live * 6,000 ground forces personnel{{cite news , last1=Isachenkov , first1=Vladimir , title=Key moments in Russia's campaign, involvement in Syrian war, url=https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/key-moments-russias-campaign-involvement-syrian-war-48083114, access-date=17 June 2017, date=16 June 2017, url-status=dead, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170616170148/http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/key-moments-russias-campaign-involvement-syrian-war-48083114, archive-date=16 June 2017Russia's Defense Ministry never said how many troops it has in Syria, but turnout figures in voting from abroad in the September 2016 parliamentary elections indicated that Russian military personnel in the Arab nation at the time likely exceeded 4,300.
{{Collapsible list, title=Equipment, titlestyle=font-weight:normal;background:transparent;text-align:left;,

Naval ship A naval ship (or naval vessel) is a military ship (or sometimes boat, depending on classification) that is used by a navy. Naval ships are differentiated from civilian ships by construction and purpose. Generally, naval ships are damage resili ...

s
2 {{sclass2, Vishnya, intelligence ship, 2
4 Improved Kilo-class submarines
1 {{sclass, Slava, cruiser, 2
Kuznetsov aircraft carrier battlegroup
1 {{sclass, Kuznetsov, aircraft carrier, 2
1 {{sclass, Kirov, battlecruiser, 2
2 {{sclass, Udaloy, destroyer, 2s
support vessels

Strategic bomber A strategic bomber is a medium- to long-range Penetrator (aircraft), penetration bomber aircraft designed to drop large amounts of air-to-ground weaponry onto a distant target for the purposes of debilitating the enemy's capacity to wage war. Unl ...

s
14 Tu-22M3{{cite news, url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/11/17/russia-pounds-isis-with-biggest-bomber-raid-in-decades.html, title=Russia Pounds ISIS With Biggest Bomber Raid in Decades, work=The Daily Beast, date=17 November 2015, access-date=20 November 2015, last1=Axe, first1=David, archive-date=19 May 2017, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170519105718/http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/11/17/russia-pounds-isis-with-biggest-bomber-raid-in-decades.html, url-status=live
6 Tu-95MSM
5 Tu-160
Tactical bombers
12

Su-24 The Sukhoi Su-24 (NATO reporting name: Fencer) is a supersonic, night fighter, all-weather tactical bomber developed in the Soviet Union. The aircraft has a variable-sweep wing, Twinjet, twin engines and a side-by-side seating arrangement for it ...

M2
8 Su-34
Attack bombers
4

Su-25 The Sukhoi Su-25 ''Grach'' ( ('' rook''); NATO reporting name: Frogfoot) is a subsonic, single-seat, twin-engine jet aircraft developed in the Soviet Union by Sukhoi. It was designed to provide close air support for Soviet Ground Forces. The ...

Fighter aircraft Fighter aircraft (early on also ''pursuit aircraft'') are military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat. In military conflict, the role of fighter aircraft is to establish air supremacy, air superiority of the battlespace. Domina ...

4 Su-27SM
4 Su-30SM
4

Su-35 The Sukhoi Su-35 (-35; NATO reporting name: Flanker-E/M, occasionally nicknamed "Super Flanker") is the designation for two improved derivatives of the Su-27 air-defence fighter. They are single-seat, twin-engine, supermaneuverable, 4.5 ge ...

S
4

MiG-29SMT The Mikoyan MiG-29M (; NATO reporting name: Fulcrum-E) is a Russian multirole combat aircraft, multirole fighter that first flew in 2005. The unified platform that is the MiG-29 is now comprised by the MiG-29M and a naval carrier aircraft, carri ...

Su-57 The Sukhoi Su-57 (; NATO reporting name: Felon) is a Twinjet, twin-engine stealth aircraft, stealth Multirole combat aircraft, multirole fighter aircraft developed by Sukhoi. It is the product of the PAK FA (, prospective aeronautical comp ...

Reconnaissance aircraft A reconnaissance aircraft (colloquially, a spy plane) is a military aircraft designed or adapted to perform aerial reconnaissance with roles including collection of imagery intelligence (including using Aerial photography, photography), signals ...

A-50U
Il-20M1
Tu-214R

Attack helicopter An attack helicopter is an armed helicopter with the primary role of an attack aircraft, with the offensive (military), offensive capability of engaging ground targets such as enemy infantry, military vehicles and fortifications. Due to their ...

12 Mi-24P/35M{{cite web, url=https://www.stratfor.com/sample/analysis/russian-fighter-aircraft-arrive-syria, title=Russian Fighter Aircraft Arrive in Syria, work=Stratfor, access-date=8 October 2015, url-status=dead, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151015222707/https://www.stratfor.com/sample/analysis/russian-fighter-aircraft-arrive-syria, archive-date=15 October 2015
6 Mi-28N{{cite web, url=http://rg.ru/2015/11/30/vertolet-site-anons.html, title=В Сирии заметили Ка-52 и Ми-28Н, author=Илья Щеголев, work=

Rossiyskaya Gazeta ' () is a Russian newspaper published by the Government of Russia. History ''Rossiyskaya Gazeta'' was founded in 1990 by the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR, Supreme Soviet of the Russian SFSR during the ''glasnost'' reforms in Soviet Union, shortl ...

, date=30 November 2015, access-date=26 March 2016, archive-date=16 April 2021, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210416062616/https://rg.ru/2015/11/30/vertolet-site-anons.html, url-status=live
4 Ka-52

Utility helicopter A utility helicopter is a multi-purpose helicopter capable of pursuing a wide array of tasks. They have proven useful in both civilian and military operations, with versatility being their defining trait. Civilian Helicopters play a crucial ...

Mi-8 The Mil Mi-8 (, NATO reporting name: Hip) is a medium twin-turbine helicopter, originally designed by the Soviet Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute (TsAGI) in the 1960s and introduced into the Soviet Air Force in 1968. Russian production of t ...

AMTSh
UAV

Orlan-10 The Orlan-10 () is a reconnaissance unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) developed by the Special Technology Center (STC) in Saint Petersburg for the Russian Armed Forces. The Orlan-10 features a composite fuselage that reduces its radar signature. Dr ...

Forpost
Ground arms and equipment
UGV
Uran-6
IMV
Iveco Rys'
SRBM (presumed)
2

9K720 Iskander The 9K720 Iskander (; NATO reporting name SS-26 Stone) is a Russian mobile short-range ballistic missile system. It has a range of . It was intended to replace the OTR-21 Tochka in the Russian military by 2020. The Iskander has several differ ...

(SS-26) missile launchers
SAM
3

SA-22 The Pantsir () missile system is a family of self-propelled, medium-range surface-to-air missile and anti-aircraft artillery systems. Three types of vehicles make up one system: a missile launcher, a radar truck and a command post. Starting with ...

, other anti-aircraft and anti-missile weapons, including

S-400 The S-400 Triumf ( – Triumf; translation: Triumph; NATO reporting name: SA-21 Growler), previously known as the S-300 PMU-3, is a mobile surface-to-air missile (SAM) system developed in the 1990s by Russia's NPO Almaz as an upgrade to the S ...

, S-300VM, and Vityaz (S-350E) (unconfirmed officially) , strength2 = Tahrir al-Sham:
ca. 31,000{{cite web, url=http://english.aawsat.com/2017/01/article55366551/syria-surfacing-haiat-tahrir-al-sham-threatens-truce, title=Syria: Surfacing of 'Hai'at Tahrir al-Sham' Threatens Truce – ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English, first=Asharq, last=Al-awsat, date=30 January 2017, url-status=dead, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170215122504/http://english.aawsat.com/2017/01/article55366551/syria-surfacing-haiat-tahrir-al-sham-threatens-truce, archive-date=15 February 2017
---- Free Syrian Army:
45,000–60,000 fighters (disputed)

{{Collapsible list, title=Others, titlestyle=font-weight:normal;background:transparent;text-align:left;, Ahrar al-Sham:
10,000–21,000{{cite web, url=https://asiatimes.com/article/syrias-idlib-groomed-islamist-killing-ground/, title=Is Syria's Idlib being groomed as Islamist killing ground?, date=29 January 2017, work=Asia Times , quote=Last January, Idlib sank into a "rebel civil war" as fighting broke out between Jabhat al-Nusra and the Turkish-backed Ahrar al-Sham, a militia in the Syrian north that boasts of a powerbase of at least 20,000 fighters. , strength3 = Islamic State:
30,000–100,000 fighters{{cite news, url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/war-with-isis-islamic-militants-have-army-of-200000-claims-kurdish-leader-9863418.html, title=Islamic State has 200,000 fighters, claims Kurdish leader, first=Patrick, last=Cockburn, location=Erbil, Iraqi Kurdistan, newspaper=

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

, date=16 November 2014, access-date=22 December 2014, archive-date=24 May 2022, archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220524/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/war-with-isis-islamic-militants-have-army-of-200000-claims-kurdish-leader-9863418.html, url-status=live , cass1 = {{flagicon, Russia 197 servicemen killed
346 Wagner PMC killed ( confirmed by names only)
{{Collapsible list, title=Equipment, titlestyle=font-weight:normal;background:transparent;text-align:left;, 14 aircraft lost:
2

lost
1

MiG-29K The Mikoyan MiG-29K (; NATO reporting name: Fulcrum-D) is a Russian all-weather carrier-based multirole fighter aircraft developed by the Mikoyan Design Bureau. The MiG-29K was developed in the late 1980s from the MiG-29M. Mikoyan describe ...

lost
1 Su-30SM lost
1

Su-33 The Sukhoi Su-33 (-33; NATO reporting name: Flanker-D) is a Soviet/Russian all-weather Carrier-based aircraft, carrier-based twinjet, twin-engine air superiority fighter designed by Sukhoi and manufactured by Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aircraft Produ ...

lost
1

An-26 The Antonov An-26 (NATO reporting name: Curl) is a twin-engined turboprop civilian and military transport aircraft, designed and produced in the Soviet Union from 1969 to 1986.Gordon, Yefim. Komissarov, Dmitry & Sergey. "Antonov's Turboprop Twins ...

lost
1 Ilyushin Il-20 lost
2 Mi-8AMTsh lost
1 Mi-28N lost
2 Mi-35 lost
1 Ka-52 lost , casualties1 = 543 killed , casualties2 = 6,273 killed (according to SOHR){{cite web , url=http://www.syriahr.com/?p=371683 , script-title=ar:على الرغم من وقف إطلاق النار المتواصل منذ 26 يوماً.. استشهاد 27 مدنياً بضربات جوية روسية خلال شهر آذار/مارس 2020 , work=SOHR , date=July 1, 2020 , access-date=July 1, 2020 , archive-date=3 April 2020 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200403122621/http://www.syriahr.com/?p=371683 , url-status=live , casualties3 = 6,244 killed (according to SOHR) , casualties4 = 4,372–6,467 civilians killed (according to Airwars)
8,763 civilians killed (according to SOHR) , notes = , campaignbox = {{Campaignbox Syrian civil war , conflict = Russian intervention in the Syrian civil war {{lead too long, date=March 2025 On 30 September 2015,

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

launched a military intervention in Syria after a request by the regime of

Bashar al-Assad Bashar al-Assad (born 11September 1965) is a Syrian politician, military officer and former dictator Sources characterising Assad as a dictator: who served as the president of Syria from 2000 until fall of the Assad regime, his government ...

for military support in its fight against the

Syrian opposition Syrians () are the majority inhabitants of Syria, indigenous to the Levant, most of whom have Arabic, especially its Levantine and Mesopotamian dialects, as a mother tongue. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend ...

and

(IS) in the Syrian civil war.{{cite web, url=https://www.latimes.com/world/europe/la-fg-kremlin-oks-troops-20150930-story.html, title=Russia launches airstrikes in Syria amid U.S. concern about targets, date=30 September 2015, access-date=7 October 2015, work=Los Angeles Times, author1=Patrick J. McDonnell, author2=W.J. Hennigan, author3=Nabih Bulos, archive-date=5 March 2022, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220305052015/https://www.latimes.com/world/europe/la-fg-kremlin-oks-troops-20150930-story.html, url-status=live{{cite web, title=Russia carries out first air strikes in Syria, url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/09/russian-carries-air-strikes-syria-150930133155190.html, publisher=Al Jazeera, access-date=1 October 2015, date=30 September 2015, archive-date=30 September 2015, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150930155218/http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/09/russian-carries-air-strikes-syria-150930133155190.html, url-status=live The intervention began with extensive air strikes across Syria, focused on strongholds of opposition factions such as the

, the Revolutionary Command Council, and

Sunni Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Mu ...

militant groups comprising the Army of Conquest coalition. In line with the

Assad regime Ba'athist Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic (SAR), was the Syrian state between 1963 and 2024 under the one-party rule of the Syrian regional branch of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party. From 1971 until its collapse in 2024, it was rule ...

's rhetoric, Syrian military chief Ali Abdullah Ayoub depicted Russian airstrikes as part of a general campaign against "terrorism." Russian special operations forces,

military advisor Military advisors or combat advisors are military Military personnel, personnel deployed to advise on military matters. The term is often used for soldiers sent to foreign countries to aid such countries' militaries with their military education ...

s and private military contractors like the

were also sent to Syria to support the

, which was on the verge of collapse.{{Cite book , last=Borshchevskaya , first=Anna , title=Putin's War in Syria , publisher=I. B. Tauris , year=2022 , isbn=978-0-7556-3463-7 , location=London, UK , pages=69–88 , chapter=6: The Military Campaign , quote= Prior to the intervention, Russian involvement had included diplomatic support for Assad and billions of dollars' worth of arms and equipment for the

Syrian Armed Forces The Syrian Armed Forces () are the military forces of Syria. Up until the fall of Bashar al-Assad's Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Syria Region, Ba'ath Party Ba'athist Syria, regime in December 2024, the Syrian Arab Armed Forces were the sta ...

.{{cite news, url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-16797818, title=Russian arms shipments bolster Syria's embattled Assad, first=Richard, last=Galpin, date=10 January 2012, access-date=4 February 2012, work=BBC News, archive-date=22 May 2019, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190522133208/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-16797818, url-status=live In December 2017, the Russian government announced that its troops would be deployed to Syria permanently. At the onset of the intervention, the Syrian government controlled only 26% of Syrian territory.{{Cite web , date=30 March 2019 , title=42 months of Russian operations on the Syrian territory kill more than 8000 civilians including more than 18150 people in their raids and shelling , url=https://www.syriahr.com/en/122585/ , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230415022147/https://www.syriahr.com/en/122585/ , archive-date=15 April 2023 , website=SOHR Although Russia initially portrayed its intervention as a "war against terrorism" solely targeting the

,{{Cite web , last=Daher , first=Joseph , date=27 September 2018 , title=Three years later: the evolution of Russia's military intervention in Syria , url=https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/syriasource/three-years-later-the-evolution-of-russia-s-military-intervention-in-syria/ , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220402164248/https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/syriasource/three-years-later-the-evolution-of-russia-s-military-intervention-in-syria/ , archive-date=2 April 2022 , website=Atlantic Council Russia employed

scorched-earth A scorched-earth policy is a military strategy of destroying everything that allows an enemy military force to be able to fight a war, including the deprivation and destruction of water, food, humans, animals, plants and any kind of tools and i ...

methods against civilian areas and

strongholds opposed to IS and

.{{Efn, Sources: * {{Cite news , date=7 October 2015 , title='More than 90%' of Russian airstrikes in Syria have not targeted Isis, US says , work=The Guardian , url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/07/russia-airstrikes-syria-not-targetting-isis , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220308164540/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/07/russia-airstrikes-syria-not-targetting-isis , archive-date=8 March 2022 * {{Cite web , last=Casagrande , first=Genevieve , date=13 February 2016 , title=The Russian Air Campaign in Aleppo , url=https://www.iswresearch.org/2016/02/the-russian-air-campaign-in-aleppo.html , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220426142710/https://www.iswresearch.org/2016/02/the-russian-air-campaign-in-aleppo.html , archive-date=26 April 2022 , website=Institute for the Study of War * {{Cite news , last=Stubbs , first=Jack , date=21 October 2015 , title=Four-fifths of Russia's Syria strikes don't target Islamic State: Reuters analysis , work=Reuters , url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-russia-strikes-idUSKCN0SF24L20151021 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220109182733/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-russia-strikes-idUSKCN0SF24L20151021 , archive-date=9 January 2022 * {{Cite web , date=15 October 2020 , title=Syria/Russia: Strategy Targeted Civilian Infrastructure , url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/10/15/syria/russia-strategy-targeted-civilian-infrastructure , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220307102306/https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/10/15/syria/russia-strategy-targeted-civilian-infrastructure , archive-date=7 March 2022 , website=Human Rights Watch * {{Cite news , last=Beauchamp , first=Zack , date=30 September 2015 , title=Russia says it's bombing ISIS in Syria. It's actually bombing their enemies , work=Vox News , url=https://www.vox.com/2015/9/30/9423229/russia-bombing-isis-syria , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220720162929/https://www.vox.com/2015/9/30/9423229/russia-bombing-isis-syria , archive-date=20 July 2022 * {{Cite news , last=Taddonio , first=Patrice , date=11 March 2022 , title=11 Years into the Syrian Conflict, Explore its Evolution, Toll & Putin's Role , work=PBS Frontline , url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/putin-airstrikes-syrian-war-assad-ukraine/ , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220328172008/https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/putin-airstrikes-syrian-war-assad-ukraine/ , archive-date=28 March 2022 Weeks after the intervention began, Russian officials disclosed that President

's chief objectives were maintaining the allied Ba'athist government in

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

and capturing territories from American-backed Free Syrian militias, with a broader geo-political objective of rolling back U.S. influence. In a televised interview in October 2015, Putin said that the military operation had been thoroughly prepared in advance. He defined Russia's goal in Syria as "stabilising the legitimate power in Syria and creating the conditions for political compromise".{{cite news, url=http://www.interfax.ru/russia/472593, script-title=ru:Путин назвал основную задачу российских военных в Сирии, agency=

Interfax Interfax () is a Russian news agency. The agency is owned by Interfax News Agency joint-stock company and is headquartered in Moscow. History As the first non-governmental channel of political and economic information about the USSR, Interfax ...

, date=11 October 2015, language=ru, archive-date=21 December 2015, access-date=20 December 2015, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151221040027/http://www.interfax.ru/russia/472593, url-status=live In 2016 alone, more than 80% of Russian aerial attacks targeted opposition militias fighting the

. Despite Russia's extensive bombing of opposition strongholds, the territory under the Assad regime's actual control shrank from 26% of Syria in 2015 to 17% in early 2017. In early January 2017, Chief of General Staff of

said that the

Russian Air Force The Russian Air Force () is a branch of the Russian Aerospace Forces, the latter being formed on 1 August 2015 with the merging of the Russian Air Force and the Russian Aerospace Defence Forces. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the reb ...

(RuAF) had carried out 19,160 combat missions and delivered 71,000 strikes on "the infrastructure of terrorists". The intervention only began producing concrete gains for the Assad government from 2017; after the recapture of Aleppo in December 2016. These included the recaptures of Palmyra and

Deir ez-Zor Deir ez-Zor () is the largest city in eastern Syria and the seventh largest in the country. Located on the banks of the Euphrates to the northeast of the capital Damascus, Deir ez-Zor is the capital of the Deir ez-Zor Governorate. In the 2018 ...

from the

in 2017, fall of Daraa and collapse of the Southern Front during the

2018 Southern Syria offensive Eighteen or 18 may refer to: * 18 (number) * One of the years 18 BC, AD 18, 1918, 2018 Film, television and entertainment * ''18'' (film), a 1993 Taiwanese experimental film based on the short story ''God's Dice'' * ''Eighteen'' (film), a ...

; followed by the complete seizure of

M5 Motorway The M5 is a motorway in England linking the Midlands with the South West England, South West. It runs from junction 8 of the M6 motorway, M6 at West Bromwich near Birmingham to Exeter in Devon. Heading south-west, the M5 runs east of West Brom ...

during the North-Western Syria offensive. For Russia, the intervention has swelled its position in the great-power competition with the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, guaranteed access to the

Eastern Mediterranean The Eastern Mediterranean is a loosely delimited region comprising the easternmost portion of the Mediterranean Sea, and well as the adjoining land—often defined as the countries around the Levantine Sea. It includes the southern half of Turkey ...

, and bolstered its capacity to conduct military operations across the wider region, such as the

Red Sea The Red Sea is a sea inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. Its connection to the ocean is in the south, through the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait and the Gulf of Aden. To its north lie the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and th ...

and

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

. The

Syrian Network for Human Rights The Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR, ) is a UK-based independent monitoring group,Chotiner, Isaac (May 13, 2019)"A Times Reporter Documents the Horror of Syria’s Torture Sites" ''The New Yorker''. which monitors casualties and briefs var ...

(SNHR) and Violations Documentation Centre (VDC) stated that from its inception in September 2015 until the end of February 2016, Russian air strikes killed at least 2,000 civilians. SNHR report stated that civilian deaths from the Russian offensive had exceeded those caused by the Islamic State and the Syrian Army since Russian operations began.Russian airstrikes in Syria killed 2,000 civilians in six months
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160820172643/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/mar/15/russian-airstrikes-in-syria-killed-2000-civilians-in-six-months , date=20 August 2016 ''The Guardian'', 15 March 2016.{{cite web, url=http://www.newsweek.com/russia-has-killed-more-syrian-civilians-assad-or-isis-last-month-report-426775, title=In January, Russia topped a dark league table, a Syria watchdog reports., website=

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly news magazine based in New York City. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely distributed during the 20th century and has had many notable editors-in-chief. It is currently co-owned by Dev P ...

, date=15 February 2016, access-date=19 August 2016, archive-date=20 August 2016, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160820215730/http://www.newsweek.com/russia-has-killed-more-syrian-civilians-assad-or-isis-last-month-report-426775, url-status=live The UK-based pro-opposition

Syrian Observatory for Human Rights The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (also known as SOHR; ), founded in May 2006, is a United Kingdom-based information office whose stated aim is to document human rights abuses in Syria; since 2011 it has focused on the Syrian Civil War. ...

(SOHR) issued a slightly lower estimate: at least 1,700 civilians, including more than 200 children. Weapons used included unguided bombs, cluster bombs, incendiaries similar to

white phosphorus White phosphorus, yellow phosphorus, or simply tetraphosphorus (P4) is an allotrope of phosphorus. It is a translucent waxy solid that quickly yellows in light (due to its photochemical conversion into red phosphorus), and impure white phospho ...

and thermobaric weapons. By the end of April 2018, the SOHR documented that Russian bombings directly killed more than 7,700 civilians, about a quarter of them children, apart from 4,749 opposition fighters and 4,893 IS fighters.{{cite web , date=30 April 2018 , title=More than 7700 civilian casualties are the victims of Russian bombardment in 31 months and regime's warplanes kill about 25500 civilians since the start of the Syrian revolution • The Syrian Observatory For Human Rights , url=https://www.syriahr.com/en/?p=90825 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230410024502/https://www.syriahr.com/en/90825/ , archive-date=10 April 2023 , website=Syrian Observatory For Human Rights The Russian campaign has been criticised by numerous international bodies for indiscriminate aerial bombings across Syria that target

school A school is the educational institution (and, in the case of in-person learning, the Educational architecture, building) designed to provide learning environments for the teaching of students, usually under the direction of teachers. Most co ...

s and civilian infrastructures and

carpet bombing Carpet bombing, also known as saturation bombing, is a large area bombardment done in a progressive manner to inflict damage in every part of a selected area of land. The phrase evokes the image of explosions completely covering an area, in t ...

of cities like

Aleppo Aleppo is a city in Syria, which serves as the capital of the Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Governorates of Syria, governorate of Syria. With an estimated population of 2,098,000 residents it is Syria's largest city by urban area, and ...

. The findings of BMJ Global Health and a UN investigation report published in 2020 revealed that the RuAF also "weaponized health-care" through its hospital bombardment campaigns; by pursuing a deliberate policy of bombing ambulances, clinical facilities,

hospital A hospital is a healthcare institution providing patient treatment with specialized Medical Science, health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically ...

s and all medical infrastructure.{{Efn, Sources: * Borshchevskaya 2022 pp 69–88 * {{Cite web , last=Reinl , first=James , date=19 September 2019 , title=Russia blasted at UN for 'carpet bombing' Syria , url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/9/19/russia-blasted-at-un-for-carpet-bombing-syria , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220326173737/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/9/19/russia-blasted-at-un-for-carpet-bombing-syria , archive-date=26 March 2022 , website=Aljazeera * {{Cite book , last=Shield , first=Ralph , title=Air Power in the Age of Primacy: Air Warfare Since the Cold War , publisher=Cambridge University Press , year=2022 , isbn=978-1-108-83922-8 , editor-last=Jackson , editor2-last=Haun , editor3-last=Schultz , editor-first=Colin , editor2-first=Phil , editor3-first=Tim , location=New York , pages=249–253 , chapter=Chapter 10 * {{Cite book , editor-first1=Samuel Ojo , editor-first2=Toyin , editor-last1=Oloruntoba , editor-last2=Falola , title=The Palgrave Handbook of Africa and the Changing Global Order , publisher=Palgrave Macmillan , year=2021 , isbn=978-3-030-77480-6 , location= Cham, Switzerland , pages=705 , doi=10.1007/978-3-030-77481-3, s2cid=244495705 * {{Cite book , last=McFaul , first=Michael , chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YxNCDwAAQBAJ&dq=carpet+bombing+Syria+Russia&pg=PT648 , title=From Cold War to Hot Peace: The Inside Story of Russia and America , publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt , year=2018 , isbn=978-0-544-71624-7 , location=New York, New York , chapter=Epilogue: Trump and Putin Russia also reportedly employed double tap strikes to target relief workers. The intervention polarized governments along predictable lines. Countries with close ties to Russia either voiced support or stayed neutral, while reactions by governments close to the US were critical. Western governments and other US allies strongly denounced Russia for its role in the war and its complicity with the Syrian regime's war crimes.

Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Headquartered in New York City, the group investigates and reports on issues including War crime, war crimes, crim ...

and

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...

stated that Russia is committing war crimes and deliberately targeting civilians. The United States government condemned the intervention and imposed

economic sanctions Economic sanctions or embargoes are Commerce, commercial and Finance, financial penalties applied by states or institutions against states, groups, or individuals. Economic sanctions are a form of Coercion (international relations), coercion tha ...

against Russia for supporting the Syrian government. Officials at the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

condemned the Russian intervention and stated that Russia was committing war crimes.{{cite web, url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/sep/25/russia-accused-war-crimes-syria-un-security-council-aleppo, title=Russia accused of war crimes in Syria at UN security council session, work=The Guardian, date=26 September 2016, access-date=15 April 2018, archive-date=1 April 2019, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190401192517/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/sep/25/russia-accused-war-crimes-syria-un-security-council-aleppo, url-status=live Russian authorities dismissed this denunciation, including accusations of "barbarism", labeling them as false and politically motivated, thereby eliciting further condemnation from governments that support the rebel groups. In November 2024, the renewal of Russian airstrikes failed to halt the Syrian opposition offensives, Russia began to withdraw their forces, and the

followed in December.{{Cite news, title=Russia is evacuating its military fleet from Syria following an offensive by rebels, url=https://odessa-journal.com/russia-is-evacuating-its-military-fleet-from-syria-following-an-offensive-by-rebels, access-date=2024-12-08, website=Odessa journal Russian forces in Syria at that time consisted of special forces, base security and an aviation unit.

Background and preparation phase

{{See also, Foreign involvement in the Syrian civil war, Russian involvement in the Syrian civil war, Vetoed United Nations Security Council resolutions on Syria Syrian civil war has been waged since 2011 between multiple opposition (anti-Assad) groupings and the government as well, including their local and foreign support bases. Since 2014, a significant part of Syrian territory had been

claimed "Claimed" is the eleventh episode of the The Walking Dead season 4, fourth season of the Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, post-apocalyptic Horror fiction, horror television series ''The Walking Dead (TV series), The Walking Dead'', wh ...

by the

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant The Islamic State (IS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Daesh, is a transnational Salafi jihadist organization and unrecognized quasi-state. IS occupied signi ...

, an entity internationally recognized as a terrorist organization. In the north-west of the country, the main opposition factions included the Revolutionary Command Council and the Islamic Army of Conquest coalition. Free Syrian militias that operated under the joint RCC command centre that answered to the

were being trained, vetted and equipped by United States and allies. Since September 2014, the U.S.-led CJTF coalition had begun direct intervention in Syria as part of its War against ISIL. ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

'' reported in January 2015 that coalition airstrikes were unsuccessful in slowing down IS advances in Syria.{{cite news, url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/oct/15/british-planes-syria-military-putin-diplomacy, title=If British planes fly in Syria it will be for political, not military, reasons, work=The Guardian, date=15 October 2015, access-date=27 October 2015, archive-date=20 October 2015, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151020150517/http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/oct/15/british-planes-syria-military-putin-diplomacy, url-status=live Following his successful annexation of Crimea from

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

and temporary freezing of

War in Donbas The war in Donbas, or the Donbas war, was a phase of the Russo-Ukrainian War in the eastern Donbas region of Ukraine. The war Timeline of the war in Donbas (2014), began in April 2014, when Russian separatist forces in Ukraine, Russian para ...

turned his attention to Syria in 2015. Russian intelligence reports estimated that Assad government forces effectively controlled a meagre 10% of Syrian territories. Ba'athist forces were steadily losing territories, cities and towns to rebel forces, and the prospects for Assad regime's survival that year were becoming more grim. Upon the advice of Chief of Staff Valery Gerasimov and Russian military elites, Vladimir Putin decided to launch a full-scale military intervention in Syria to prevent the fall of their ally

and stop Syria from joining the Western sphere of influence. Other objectives included showcasing Russian military prowess by guarding its naval port in

Tartus Tartus ( / ALA-LC: ''Ṭarṭūs''; known in the County of Tripoli as Tortosa and also transliterated from French language, French Tartous) is a major port city on the Mediterranean coast of Syria. It is the second largest port city in Syria (af ...

and project Russia's expanding influence across

West Asia West Asia (also called Western Asia or Southwest Asia) is the westernmost region of Asia. As defined by most academics, UN bodies and other institutions, the subregion consists of Anatolia, the Arabian Peninsula, Iran, Mesopotamia, the Armenian ...

North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

and

. Russian military leadership sought the prevention of 1980s Afghanistan scenario through an

irregular warfare Irregular warfare (IW) is defined in United States joint doctrine as "a violent struggle among state and non-state actors for legitimacy and influence over the relevant populations" and in U.S. law as "Department of Defense activities not involvin ...

strategy which sub-contracted ground operations to Syrian Armed Forces, allied foreign militias and Russian PMCs like

Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, essayist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most o ...

; while Russia assumed control over air operations. Ba'athist regime had lost vast swathes of territories by 2015; including

Idlib Idlib (, ; also spelt Idleb or Edlib) is a city in northwestern Syria, and is the capital of the Idlib Governorate. It has an elevation of nearly above sea level, and is southwest of Aleppo. It is located near the border with Turkey. History ...

Raqqa Raqqa (, also , Kurdish language, Kurdish: ''Reqa'') is a city in Syria on the North bank of the Euphrates River, about east of Aleppo. It is located east of the Tabqa Dam, Syria's largest dam. The Hellenistic, Roman, and Byzantine city and b ...

, Deir Az Zor,

Al-Hasakah Al-Hasakah (; / ; ) is a city in northeastern Syria and the capital of the Al-Hasakah Governorate. With a 2023 estimated population of 422,445, Al-Hasakah is populated by Kurds, Arabs, Assyrians and a smaller number of Armenians and Chechens. A ...

, Deraa, and Quneitra governorates; in addition to being further pushed back in

Hama Hama ( ', ) is a city on the banks of the Orontes River in west-central Syria. It is located north of Damascus and north of Homs. It is the provincial capital of the Hama Governorate. With a population of 996,000 (2023 census), Hama is one o ...

and Homs provinces by the

.{{Cite news , last=Petkova , first=Mariya , date=1 October 2020 , title=What has Russia gained from five years of fighting in Syria? , work=Al Jazeera , url=https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2020/10/1/what-has-russia-gained-from-five-years-of-fighting-in-syria , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230316095435/https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2020/10/1/what-has-russia-gained-from-five-years-of-fighting-in-syria , archive-date=16 March 2023 According to Russian and Syrian officials, in July 2015,

made a formal request to Russia for air strikes combating

international terrorism Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of violence against non-combatants to achieve political or ideological aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violence during peacetime or in the context of war ag ...

, while laying out Syria's military problems.{{cite news, url=http://sana.sy/en/?p=56454, title=Syria's ambassador to Russia urges all countries to join Syria and Russia against terrorism, author=Manal, agency=Syrian Arab News Agency, access-date=28 October 2015, archive-date=6 March 2019, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190306092408/https://sana.sy/en/?p=56454, url-status=live According to media reports with reference to anonymous sources,{{cite news, url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-soleimani-insigh-idUSKCN0S02BV20151006, title=How Iranian general plotted out Syrian assault in Moscow, work=Reuters, access-date=14 October 2015, date=6 October 2015, archive-date=17 July 2018, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180717015917/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-soleimani-insigh-idUSKCN0S02BV20151006, url-status=live after a series of major setbacks suffered by the Syrian government forces in the first half of 2015, a political agreement was reached between Russia and Syria to intensify the Russian involvement;

Qasem Soleimani Qasem Soleimani (; 11 March 1957 – 3 January 2020) was an Iranian military officer who served in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). From 1998 until Assassination of Qasem Soleimani, his assassination by the United States in 2020, h ...

, commander of the Iran's

Quds Force The Quds Force () is one of five branches of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). It specializes in unconventional warfare and military intelligence operations. U.S. Army's Iraq War General Stanley McChrystal describes the Quds Fo ...

visited

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

in July to work out the details of the joint campaign (Soleimani's visit was denied by Russian officials). In August 2015, Russia began to send Russian-operated warplanes, T-90 tanks and artillery, as well as combat troops to an

airbase An airbase (stylised air base in American English), sometimes referred to as a military airbase, military airfield, military airport, air station, naval air station, air force station, or air force base, is an aerodrome or airport used as a mi ...

near the port city of

Latakia Latakia (; ; Syrian Arabic, Syrian pronunciation: ) is the principal port city of Syria and capital city of the Latakia Governorate located on the Mediterranean coast. Historically, it has also been known as Laodicea in Syria or Laodicea ad Mar ...

in Syria.{{cite magazine, url=http://kommersant.ru/doc/2836487, title=Россия в Сирии: вид сверху, magazine=Kommersant, date=3 October 2015, access-date=26 October 2015, archive-date=26 October 2015, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151026082950/http://www.kommersant.ru/doc/2836487, url-status=live{{cite web, url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/sep/14/russia-sends-artillery-and-tanks-to-syria-as-part-of-continued-military-buildup, title=Russia sends artillery and tanks to Syria as part of continued military buildup, author=Alec Luhn, work=The Guardian, access-date=9 October 2015, date=14 September 2015, archive-date=8 October 2015, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151008154708/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/sep/14/russia-sends-artillery-and-tanks-to-syria-as-part-of-continued-military-buildup, url-status=live On 26 August 2015, a treaty was signed between Russia and Syria that stipulated terms and conditions of use by Russia of Syria's Hmeimim airport, free of charge and with no time limit. The treaty, ratified by Russia's parliament in October 2016, grants Russia's personnel and their family members jurisdictional immunity and other privileges as envisaged by

Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations The Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961 is an international treaty that defines a framework for diplomatic relations between independent countries. Its aim is to facilitate "the development of friendly relations" among government ...

. In September 2015, Russia's warships of the Black Sea Fleet reached the area of eastern Mediterranean. At the end of September, a joint information centre in Baghdad was set up by Iran, Iraq, Russia and Syria to coordinate their operations against ISIL{{citation needed, date=February 2020 (in the newsmedia the centre is also referred to as "Joint Operations Room in Baghdad known as the 4 + 1" implying the Lebanese Shia militia

Hezbollah Hezbollah ( ; , , ) is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and paramilitary group. Hezbollah's paramilitary wing is the Jihad Council, and its political wing is the Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc party in the Lebanese Parliament. I ...

, in addition to the 4 states{{cite web, url=https://edition.cnn.com/2015/10/15/middleeast/russia-syria-hardware-lister/, title=Why Russia is pressing the 'accelerate' pedal in Syria, publisher=CNN, access-date=17 October 2015, date=15 October 2015, archive-date=16 October 2015, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151016143548/http://www.edition.cnn.com/2015/10/15/middleeast/russia-syria-hardware-lister/, url-status=live). According to Russian foreign minister

Sergey Lavrov Sergey Viktorovich Lavrov (, ; born 21 March 1950) is a Russian diplomat who has served as Minister of Foreign Affairs (Russia), Minister of Foreign Affairs since 2004. He is the longest-serving Russian foreign minister since Andrei Gromyko d ...

'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. According to Alexander Yakovenko, Ambassador of Russia to the United Kingdom, the Russian government received a similar rebuttal from the UK government. In late December 2015, Turkey's president Recep Erdogan said that he had declined Russian president's offer to join this alliance as he "could not sit alongside a president ssadwhose legitimacy" was dubious to him".{{cite news, url= https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/12/26/Erdogan-warns-against-Mideast-sectarian-divisions-.html, title= Erdogan warns against Mideast sectarian divisions, publisher= Al Arabiya, date= 26 December 2015, access-date= 26 December 2015, archive-date= 17 April 2019, archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190417161051/http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/12/26/Erdogan-warns-against-Mideast-sectarian-divisions-.html, url-status= live On 30 September 2015, the

upper house An upper house is one of two Legislative chamber, chambers of a bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house. The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smaller and often has more restricted p ...

of the Russian Federal Assembly, the

Federation Council The Federation Council, unofficially Senate, is the upper house of the Federal Assembly of Russia, with the lower house being the State Duma. It was established by the Constitution of the Russian Federation in 1993. Each of the 89 federal s ...

, unanimously granted the request by Russian President

to deploy the

in Syria.{{cite web, url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/sep/30/russian-parliament-grants-vladimir-putin-right-to-deploy-military-in-syria, title=Russian parliament grants Vladimir Putin right to deploy military in Syria, author=Shaun Walker, work=The Guardian, access-date=30 September 2015, date=30 September 2015, archive-date=24 April 2019, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190424154346/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/sep/30/russian-parliament-grants-vladimir-putin-right-to-deploy-military-in-syria, url-status=live On the same day, the Russian representative to the joint information centre arrived at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad and requested that any United States forces in the targeted area in Syria leave immediately. An hour later, the Russian aircraft based in the government-held territory began conducting airstrikes against opposition strongholds in

Homs Homs ( ; ), known in pre-Islamic times as Emesa ( ; ), is a city in western Syria and the capital of the Homs Governorate. It is Metres above sea level, above sea level and is located north of Damascus. Located on the Orontes River, Homs is ...

and Hama governorates.{{cite web , date=30 September 2015 , title=Syria crisis: Russia begins air strikes against Assad foes , url=http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-34399164 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220312204837/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-34399164 , archive-date=12 March 2022 , publisher=ВВС News On the same day,

Russian Orthodox Church The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC; ;), also officially known as the Moscow Patriarchate (), is an autocephaly, autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox Christian church. It has 194 dioceses inside Russia. The Primate (bishop), p ...

officially praised the decision of Federal Assembly, depicting Putin's military intervention as a "

holy war A religious war or a war of religion, sometimes also known as a holy war (), is a war and conflict which is primarily caused or justified by differences in religion and beliefs. In the modern period, there are frequent debates over the extent t ...

against terrorism". Prior to the start of the Russian operation in Syria as well as afterwards, Russian analysts said that Russia's military build-up in Syria was aimed ''inter alia'' at ending the ''de facto'' political and diplomatic isolation that the West had imposed on Putin in connection with the situation in Ukraine. At the onset of Russian military intervention in September 2015, the

merely controlled about a quarter of Syrian territories and was widely perceived to be heading towards an imminent collapse.

Prevention of Qatar–Turkey pipeline

{{Main, Qatar–Turkey pipeline One of the drivers behind Russia's military involvement in defense of Assad's clan in Syria was preventing any gas supplies to Europe and Turkey that would compete with Russian supplies. In an October 2016 TV interview, General Leonid Ivashov said that Russia's engagement in the conflict would allow it to block proposed pipelines between the Middle East and Europe, and thus ensure the dominance of

Gazprom PJSC Gazprom ( rus, Газпром, , ɡɐsˈprom) is a Russian State-owned enterprise, majority state-owned multinational Energy industry, energy corporation headquartered in the Lakhta Center in Saint Petersburg. The Gazprom name is a contract ...

. 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.

Countering Revolutions

{{Further, Counter-revolution Another factor that motivated

Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served as President of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served as Prime Minister of Ru ...

to launch the intervention was his fear of massive protests in the home turf. Putin accused the West of backing " color revolutions" to destabilize the region, and believe that these revolutions could be replicated via a massive anti-government uprising in Russia, leading to his downfall. The downfall of pro-Russian

Gaddafi regime Muammar Gaddafi became the '' de facto'' leader of Libya on 1 September 1969 after leading a group of young Libyan Army officers against King Idris I in a bloodless coup d'état. When Idris was in Turkey for medical treatment, the Revolutio ...

during the 2011 Libyan Revolution had deeply upset Putin. His apprehensions were further confirmed by the crisis of 2011-2013 Russian protests. In 2014, Ukrainian Revolution of Dignity ousted the pro-Russian regime of Viktor Yanukovich. Putin reacted by starting the

Russo-Ukrainian War The Russo-Ukrainian War began in February 2014 and is ongoing. Following Ukraine's Revolution of Dignity, Russia Russian occupation of Crimea, occupied and Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, annexed Crimea from Ukraine. It then ...

and annexing Crimea, a move which triggered massive

international sanctions International sanctions are political and economic decisions that are part of diplomatic efforts by countries, multilateral or regional organizations against states or organizations either to protect national security interests, or to protect i ...

. In face of deteriorating ties with West and suspicious of another successful revolution in Syria, Putin sought to prevent the fall of his ally

and decided to intervene on Assad's side.

Operations by Russian military forces

September–October 2015

{{see also, Northwestern Syria offensive (October 2015) The first series of air strikes took place on 30 September 2015 in areas around the cities of

and

, targeting the mainstream opposition. Russian warplanes attacked rebel positions "in

al-Rastan Al-Rastan () is the third largest city in the Homs Governorate, located north of its administrative capital Homs and from Hama. Nearby localities include Talbiseh and al-Ghantu to the south, al-Zaafaraniyah and al-Mashrafah to the southeast, Mur ...

, Talbiseh and Zafaraniya in Homs province; Al-Tilol al-Hmer in Quneitra province; Aydoun, a village on the outskirts of the town of

Salamiyah file:Hama qalat shmemis salamiyyah syria 1995.jpg, A full view of Shmemis (spring 1995) Salamiyah (; also transliterated ''Salamiyya'', ''Salamieh'' or ''Salamya'') is a city in central Syria, administratively part of the Hama Governorate. It is ...

; Deer Foul, between

and

; and the outskirts of

". Most of the initial airstrikes targeted positions of the Chechen fighters, Islamic Front's

(Army of Islam), and

. While Russian officials falsely claimed that the strikes were solely directed against IS bases, the location of bombings were in

and Hama provinces controlled by opposition militias fighting IS. Syrian civil society activists asserted that none of the strikes were against IS, but solely the rebel-held civilian areas, killing 36 civilians, including many children.

US Secretary of State The United States secretary of state (SecState) is a member of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States and the head of the U.S. Department of State. The secretary of state serves as the principal advisor to the p ...

John Kerry John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician, and diplomat who served as the 68th United States secretary of state from 2013 to 2017 in the Presidency of Barack Obama#Administration, administration of Barac ...

denounced the targeting of opposition areas during a session with the

UN Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, an ...

. Defence Secretary

Ash Carter Ashton Baldwin Carter (September 24, 1954 – October 24, 2022) was an American government official and academic who served as the 25th United States secretary of defense from February 2015 to January 2017. He later served as director of the B ...

denounced Russian attacks on opposition-held territories as being "doomed to fail." According to

media outlet Al Mayadeen, the Saudi/Turkish-backed Army of Conquest around Jisr ash-Shugour was bombed on 1 October by Russian planes; at least 30 air strikes were carried out. Al-Mayadeen outlet also claimed that on same day, another series of Russian airstrikes targeted the Tabqa airbase, which was under the control of the

organization in the Raqqa region.{{cite news, url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-raqqa-idUSKCN0RV4UV20151001, title=Russia jets strike Islamic State in northern Syria: al-Mayadeen TV, work=Reuters, access-date=1 October 2015, date=1 October 2015, archive-date=11 March 2016, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160311161203/http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-raqqa-idUSKCN0RV4UV20151001, url-status=live On 3 October, reports indicated that Hezbollah and Iranian fighters were preparing major ground offensives to be coordinated with Russian airstrikes. According to CNN, the Russian defense ministry said its soldiers bombed nine ISIL positions near the group's de facto capital in Raqqa. At least 11 were killed in a reported double strike by Russia in Syria's Idlib province, according to opposition groups. On the morning of 7 October 2015, according to the Russian officials, four warships from the

launched 26 3M-14T from Kalibr-NK system cruise missiles that hit 11 targets within Syrian territory. The missiles passed through Iranian and Iraqi airspace in order to reach their targets at a distance of well over about 1,500 kilometres (930 miles). The same day, Syrian ground forces were reported to carry out an offensive under Russian air cover. According to

CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...

citing unnamed United States military and intelligence officials, 4 of 26 cruise missiles on 8 October crashed in Iran, well before reaching their targets in Syria. Russia said all of its missiles hit their targets. Iran also denied any missile crash on its territory.{{cite web, url=http://english.farsnews.ir/newstext.aspx?nn=13940716001057, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151009224040/http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13940716001057, archive-date=9 October 2015, title=Urgent: Iran Rejects Russian Missile Crash, work=Farsnews, access-date=14 October 2015 Iranian defence ministry rejected any reports alleging that four of the 26 cruise missiles crashed in Iran, saying the CNN reports are part of the West's "psychological warfare". On 8 October 2015, the number of air raids increased significantly up to over 60 sorties a day, a tempo maintained for the next 2 days. The Russian defense ministry announced on 9 October that up to sixty ISIL targets were hit in the past 24 hours, reportedly killing 300 militants in the most intense strikes so far. One of the raids targeted a Liwa al-Haqq base in the

Raqqa Governorate Raqqa Governorate (, Kurdish: ''Parêzgeha Reqa'') is one of the fourteen governorates of Syria. It is situated in the north of the country and covers an area of 19,618 km2. The capital is Raqqa. The Islamic State of Iraq and Levant claim ...

using

KAB-500KR The KAB-500Kr (Correctable air bomb - 500 kg) is an electro-optical TV-guided fire and forget bomb developed by the Soviet Air Force in the 1980s. It remains in service with the Commonwealth of Independent States, CIS and various export custo ...

precision-guided bombs, in which reportedly two senior ISIL commanders and up to 200 militants were killed, despite the lack of any connection between Liwa al-Haqq and ISIL. Another assault destroyed a former prison near Aleppo that was used by ISIL as a base and munitions depot, also killing scores of militants. Rebel training sites in the Latakia and Idlib provinces were reportedly hit as well. Meanwhile, ISIL militants made advances in the Aleppo area on 9 October, seizing several villages, including Tal Qrah, Tal Sousin, and Kfar Qares, in what the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

called a "lightning attack". The attacks were unencumbered by either Russian or United States-led coalition airstrikes. The ISIL advance came at the expense of rebel groups also targeted by Russian and Syrian forces. In mid-October 2015, a joint Russian-Syrian-Iranian-Hezbollah offensive targeting rebels in Aleppo went ahead. According to pro-opposition citizen journalist group

Raqqa Is Being Slaughtered Silently Raqqa Is Being Slaughtered Silently (RSS or RBSS; ) is a citizen journalist group reporting Syrian war news and Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant#Human rights abuse and war crime findings, human rights abuses by Islamic State of Iraq and the L ...

, Russia lied about targeting ISIL in the early airstrikes and missiles around Raqqa. Between 17 September and 13 October they counted 36 Russian strikes against only 2 ISIL targets (with 4 ISIL deaths) and 22 civilian targets (with 70 civilian deaths plus injuries) included hospitals, a fire hall, at least one school and a highway fueling station.

November 2015

{{main, Homs offensive (November–December 2015)On 17 November 2015, in the wake of the Russian jet crash over Sinai{{cite news , last1=Oliphant , first1=Roland , last2=Akkoc , first2=Raziye , last3=Steafel , first3=Eleanor , date=17 November 2015 , title=Paris attacks: Cameron to make case for Syria military action as EU troops could be sent to France , url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/france/11999927/Paris-France-terror-attacks-isil-Belgium-Molenbeek-suspects-Syria-Raqqa-bombing-live.html , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151117090022/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/france/11999927/Paris-France-terror-attacks-isil-Belgium-Molenbeek-suspects-Syria-Raqqa-bombing-live.html , url-status=dead , archive-date=17 November 2015 , newspaper=The Daily Telegraph , location=Online , access-date=17 November 2015 and the Paris attacks, according to the Russian defence minister's public report to the president of Russia Vladimir Putin, Russia employed the Russia-based Tu-160, Tu-95MSM, and

Tu-22M The Tupolev Tu-22M (; NATO reporting name: Backfire) is a supersonic, variable-sweep wing, long-range strategic and maritime strike bomber developed by the Tupolev Design Bureau in the 1960s. The bomber was reported as being designated Tu-26 b ...

3 long-range

strategic bomber A strategic bomber is a medium- to long-range Penetrator (aircraft), penetration bomber aircraft designed to drop large amounts of air-to-ground weaponry onto a distant target for the purposes of debilitating the enemy's capacity to wage war. Unl ...

s firing

air-launched cruise missile An air-launched cruise missile (ALCM) is a cruise missile that is launched from a military aircraft. Current versions are typically standoff weapons which are used to attack predetermined land and naval targets with conventional weapon, conventio ...

s to hit what he said were the IS targets in Raqqa, Deir ez-Zor as well as targets in the provinces of Aleppo and Idlib. The Russian minister of defence said that, pursuant to Putin's orders, the Russian aviation group - which, at the time, comprised more than 50 aircraft - begun further intensifying their campaign. In addition, Putin said he had issued orders for the cruiser ''Moskva'' that had been in eastern Mediterranean since the start of the Russian operations to "work as with an ally",{{cite web, url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-34849063, title=Russia steps up attacks against IS with missile bombardment, publisher=BBC, date=18 November 2015, access-date=19 November 2015, archive-date=18 November 2015, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151118223115/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-34849063, url-status=live with the French naval group led by flagship {{ship, French aircraft carrier, Charles de Gaulle, , 2 that had been on its way to the eastern Mediterranean since early November. The following day, according to the Russian Defence ministry, strikes by long-range bombers firing cruise missiles in the same areas in Syria continued.{{cite web, url=http://ria.ru/syria_mission/20151118/1323723657.html, title=Авиация РФ нанесла второй массированный удар по объектам ИГ в Сирии, work=РИА Новости , agency=RIA Novosti, date=18 November 2015, access-date=19 November 2015, archive-date=18 November 2015, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151118202204/http://ria.ru/syria_mission/20151118/1323723657.html, url-status=live The mass cruise missile strikes carried out against ISIS in Deir Ezzor province on 20 November resulted in the death of more than 600 militants according to the ministry. A Russian

Sukhoi Su-24 The Sukhoi Su-24 (NATO reporting name: Fencer) is a supersonic, night fighter, all-weather tactical bomber developed in the Soviet Union. The aircraft has a variable-sweep wing, Twinjet, twin engines and a side-by-side seating arrangement for it ...

strike aircraft was shot down by a Turkish Air Force F-16 on 24 November 2015.{{cite news, title = Warplane crashes near Syria-Turkey border - CNN, url = http://www.cnn.com/2015/11/24/middleeast/warplane-crashes-near-syria-turkey-border/index.html, publisher = CNN, access-date = 24 November 2015, archive-date = 24 November 2015, archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151124084424/http://www.cnn.com/2015/11/24/middleeast/warplane-crashes-near-syria-turkey-border/index.html, url-status = live The pilot was shot and killed by Syrian rebels while descending by parachute, and the weapon systems officer was later rescued by Russian forces. A Russian marine was injured during the rescue operation and later died en route to a medical center. In the video the rebels shout "'' Allah Akbar''" over the dead body of a Russian pilot. According to Turkey's statements presented to the UN Security Council, two planes, whose nationalities were unknown to them at the time, violated Turkish airspace over the Yayladağı province up to {{convert, 1.36, mi, km, order=flip, abbr=on for 17 seconds.{{cite web, title = Turkey's statement to the United Nations Security Council, url = http://live.aljazeera.com/Event/Turkey_downs_Russian_jet/207503335, publisher = Al Jazeera, access-date = 24 November 2015, archive-date = 24 November 2015, archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151124165024/http://live.aljazeera.com/Event/Turkey_downs_Russian_jet/207503335, url-status = live According to Turkey, the planes disregarded the multiple warnings and were subsequently fired upon by Turkish F-16s patrolling the area. After the Turkish fire, one of the planes left Turkish airspace and the other crashed into Syrian territory. The Russian Ministry of Defense denied that any of their planes had violated Turkey's airspace, stating they had been flying south of the Yayladağı province and provided two maps showing two different stated routes of the airplane (one of them with "impossible" turns and maneuvers). The incident followed incremental tensions between Russia and Turkey over reported repeated violations of Turkish airspace by Russian military jets (one of which Russia admitted{{citation needed, date=February 2020) and the Turkish prime minister's statement of 17 October that Turkey would not hesitate to shoot down airplanes violating its airspace. Russia in response announced it would deploy additional air defense weapons in the area and accompany its bombers with fighter jets. On 26 November 2015, deployment of S-300 and

anti-aircraft systems was reported by Russia's official news media,{{cite web, url=http://kommersant.ru/doc/2862671, title=Россия развернула в Сирии ЗРК С-400, publisher=Kommersant, date=26 November 2015, access-date=26 November 2015, archive-date=21 September 2019, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190921081932/https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/2862671, url-status=live to Latakia and on board the cruiser ''Moskva''. 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. 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.{{cite web, url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/11/20-killed-russian-air-strike-syrian-market-151129082103978.html, title=Deadly 'Russian airstrike' hits market in Syria's Idlib, publisher=Al Jazeera, date=29 November 2015, access-date=29 November 2015, archive-date=29 November 2015, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151129103721/http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/11/20-killed-russian-air-strike-syrian-market-151129082103978.html, url-status=live{{cite web, url=http://newsru.com/world/29nov2015/ariha.html, title=Российская авиация в Сирии разбомбила овощной рынок: минимум 40 погибших, work= NEWSru, date=29 November 2015, access-date=29 November 2015, archive-date=1 December 2015, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151201015331/http://newsru.com/world/29nov2015/ariha.html, url-status=live Other targets hit included the

Turkistan Islamic Party The Turkistan Islamic Party (TIP) is an Uyghur Islamic extremist organization founded in Pakistan by Hasan Mahsum. Its stated goals are to establish an Islamic state in Xinjiang and Central Asia. The Chinese government asserts that the T ...

's office in Jisr al-Shughur and a relief office of Ahrar ash-Sham group in the town of Saraqib.

December 2015 – February 2016

{{main, 2015–16 Latakia offensive, Aleppo offensive (October–December 2015), Battle of Al-Shaykh Maskin (2015–16), Northern Aleppo offensive (February 2016) On 1 December 2015, ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'', 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.{{cite news , url=https://www.thetimes.com/comment/register/article/russia-builds-new-base-for-more-jets-in-syria-qwb3qtsrdqx , title=Russia builds new base for more jets in Syria , work=The Times , date=1 December 2015 , access-date=1 December 2015 , last1=Trew , first1=Tom Parfitt , archive-date=30 November 2015 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151130235714/http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/world/middleeast/article4628231.ece , url-status=live {{cite web, url=http://newsru.com/world/01dec2015/base.html, title=The Times: Россия готовится развернуть в Сирии вторую авиабазу, увеличив число самолетов и военных, publisher=NEWSru, date=1 December 2015, access-date=1 December 2015, archive-date=4 December 2015, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151204010738/http://www.newsru.com/world/01dec2015/base.html, url-status=live On 8 December, the Russian defence minister announced that a Kilo-class submarine, ''Rostov-on-Don'', had launched 3M14K cruise missiles while submerged, against ISIL targets in

, the first such strike from the Mediterranean Sea.{{cite web , url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-35041656 , title=Russia hits targets in Syria from Mediterranean submarine , publisher=BBC , date=8 December 2015 , access-date=9 December 2015 , archive-date=9 December 2015 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151209023200/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-35041656 , url-status=live He also reported to the president that pursuant to Putin's order, since 5 December the Russian military had intensified airstrikes in Syria: it was reported that over the 3 days, Russian aircraft, including Tu-22M3 strategic bombers, had performed over 300 sorties engaging over 600 targets of different type. On 11 December, in a televised meeting at the Defence ministry Vladimir Putin ordered the military in Syria to destroy any threatening targets: "I order you to act as tough as possible. Any target that poses a threat to Russian military grouping or ground infrastructure has to be destroyed immediately."{{cite web , url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-35070354 , title=Putin vows 'extremely tough' action on Syria threats , publisher=BBC , date=11 December 2015 , access-date=12 December 2015 , archive-date=11 December 2015 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151211130032/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-35070354 , url-status=live He also appeared to suggest that the Russian military was now supporting the anti-government

forces; however, the Kremlin spokesman later said that Russia was only supplying weapons to "the legitimate authorities of the Syrian Arab Republic". On 16 December, Russia's Defence minister

Sergey Shoigu Sergei Kuzhugetovich Shoigu; , . (born 21 May 1955) is a Russian politician and military officer who has served as secretary of the Security Council since 2024. He served as Minister of Defence of Russia from 2012 to 2024. Shoigu has served ...

speaking to the members of the

State Duma The State Duma is the lower house of the Federal Assembly (Russia), Federal Assembly of Russia, with the upper house being the Federation Council (Russia), Federation Council. It was established by the Constitution of Russia, Constitution of t ...

behind closed doors, mentioned a possible option of the Russian forces "reaching the

Euphrates The Euphrates ( ; see #Etymology, below) is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of West Asia. Tigris–Euphrates river system, Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia (). Originati ...

" in Syria.{{cite web, url= http://www.rbc.ru/politics/16/12/2015/56714d8b9a79475891a6cd5a, title= Шойгу рассказал депутатам о плане "дойти до Евфрата" в Сирии, publisher= RBC, date= 16 December 2015, access-date= 16 December 2015, archive-date= 16 December 2015, archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20151216163905/http://www.rbc.ru/politics/16/12/2015/56714d8b9a79475891a6cd5a, url-status= live On 19 December, Russian president Putin commended the performance of the Russian armed forces in Syria; he said that "so far not all of our capabilities have been used" and that "more military means" might be employed there "if deemed necessary". On 21 December, the longest offensive of the year since Russian forces got involved yielded important gains.{{citation needed, date=May 2023 According to pro-government sources and social media accounts, these included the recapture of the strategic Khanasser–Ithriya Highway from ISIL and capturing of the main rebel strongholds of Al-Hader and Khan Tuman, cutting the Aleppo–Damascus highway and leaving them in control of three-quarters of the southern Aleppo countryside.{{cite web, url=http://www.almasdarnews.com/article/israeli-army-high-alert-hezbollah-promises-retaliate/, title=Hezbollah, Syrian Army control 3/4 of southern Aleppo after completing phase 2 of the offensive, author=Leith Fadel, work=Al-Masdar News, date=22 December 2015, access-date=23 December 2015, archive-date=13 August 2018, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180813115013/https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/israeli-army-high-alert-hezbollah-promises-retaliate/, url-status=dead{{undue weight inline, date=May 2023 On 25 December 2015, Chief of the Main Operational Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces Lt. Gen. Sergey Rudskoy said that since 30 September 2015 Russian air force had conducted 5,240 sorties in Syria, including 145 sorties by long-range aviation. On 27 December 2015, Chief Commander of the Russian Aerospace Force Col. Gen. Viktor Bondarev stated that Russian pilots had never once attacked civilian targets in Syria. On 30 December 2015, heavy fighting was reported as the Syrian government forces backed by Russian air strikes advanced into the southern city of

Al-Shaykh Maskin Al-Shaykh Maskin (), also spelled Sheikh Maskīn, Sheikh Miskeen, is a town in southern Syria, administratively part of the Daraa Governorate, located north of Daraa. Nearby localities include Ibta' and Da'el to the south, Khirbet al-Ghazaleh t ...

, which had been held by the rebel Southern Front since the First Battle of Al-Shaykh Maskin in December 2014. The Syrian government's offensive operation that had started on 28 December 2015 and completed by the end of January 2016 was said to be the government's first major assault in southern Syria since Russia joined the fight.{{cite web, url=https://www.reuters.com/article/mideast-crisis-syria-idUSL8N14J17C20151230, title=Syrian army backed by jets clashes with rebels holding southern town, date=30 December 2015, work=Reuters, access-date=31 December 2015, archive-date=25 January 2016, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160125221940/http://www.reuters.com/article/mideast-crisis-syria-idUSL8N14J17C20151230, url-status=live In early January 2016, regional diplomats who had assumed Moscow had an understanding with Jordan and Israel not to extend into their sphere of influence were reported to be surprised by the growing Russian role in Syria's south; so were rebels from Syria's Southern Front alliance whose forces were directly supplied by the Military Operations Command, an operations room staffed by Arab and Western military forces, including the US.{{cite web , url= http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/69cb93de-b552-11e5-8358-9a82b43f6b2f.html, title=Russia helps shift balance against rebels in southern Syria , work=Financial Times, date=7 January 2016 , access-date=8 January 2016 On 9 January 2016, Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that Russian air strikes in the northwestern town of

Maarrat al-Nu'man Maarat al-Numan (), also known as al-Ma'arra, is a city in northwestern Syria, south of Idlib and north of Hama, with a population of about 58,008 before the Civil War (2004 census). In 2017, it was estimated to have a population of 80,000, inc ...

had killed about 60 persons, including 23 members of the Nusra Front. In January 2016, the cruiser ''Varyag'' was deployed off Syria's shore replacing

sister ship A sister ship is a ship of the same Ship class, class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They o ...

{{ship, Russian cruiser, Moskva, , 2 and was named

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of navy, naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically ...

of the Russian naval task force positioned in the eastern Mediterranean. On 14 January 2016, the Russian defence ministry said that the first joint bombing mission had been performed by Russian air force Su-25 fighters and Syrian air force

MiG-29 The Mikoyan MiG-29 (; NATO reporting name: Fulcrum) is a twinjet, twin-engine fighter aircraft designed in the Soviet Union. Developed by the Mikoyan design bureau as an air superiority fighter during the 1970s, the MiG-29, along with the large ...

aircraft. Russia's role was said to be essential in the government's capture, on 24 January 2016, of the town of Rabia, the last major town held by rebels in western Latakia province.{{cite news, url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-35395328 , title= Syria conflict: Major rebel town 'seized' in boost for Assad, publisher= BBC, access-date=24 January 2016, date=24 January 2016 The capture of Rabia, part of the government's Latakia offensive, was said to threaten rebel supply lines from Turkey. 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, to the Khmeimim base; on 1 February the Russian defence ministry said the aircraft had begun conducting missions in Syria.{{cite news, url=http://www.rg.ru/2016/02/01/istrebitel-site.html, script-title=ru:Россия перебросила в Сирию новейшие Су-35С, last=Птичкин, first=Сергей, date=1 February 2016, publisher=

, access-date=1 February 2016, language=ru, archive-date=26 April 2022, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220426190700/https://rg.ru/2016/02/01/istrebitel-site.html, url-status=live A Russian military adviser died in a hospital in Syria on 1 February after suffering severe wounds when a Syrian army training center in Homs Province was shelled. Speaking shortly after the formal start of the UN-mediated Geneva Syria peace talks on 1 February, Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said Russia would not stop its air strikes until Russia truly defeated "such terrorist organisations as Jabhat al-Nusra and ISIL″.{{cite news, url=http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-lavrov-idUKKCN0VC0SM , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160205021746/http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-lavrov-idUKKCN0VC0SM , url-status=dead , archive-date=5 February 2016 , title= Lavrov: Russia won't stop Syria strikes until 'terrorists' defeated, work= Reuters, access-date=4 February 2016, date=3 February 2016 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.{{cite news, url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/backed-by-russian-jets-syrian-army-closes-in-on-aleppo_us_56b37778e4b08069c7a63e09, title=Backed By Russian Jets, Syrian Army Closes In On Aleppo, agency=Reuters, access-date=5 February 2016, date=4 February 2016, archive-date=19 October 2017, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171019053518/https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/backed-by-russian-jets-syrian-army-closes-in-on-aleppo_us_56b37778e4b08069c7a63e09, url-status=live{{cite web, url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-idUSKCN0VC169, title=Russia and Turkey trade accusations over Syria, author=Tom Perry, Jack Stubbs and Estelle Shirbon, website=

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency ...

, date=5 February 2016, agency=Reuters UK, access-date=5 February 2016, archive-date=9 September 2019, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190909181823/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-idUSKCN0VC169, url-status=live

March 2016 – mid-October 2016

{{main, Palmyra offensive (March 2016), 2016 Aleppo summer campaign, Aleppo offensive (September–October 2016) On 1 March 2016, Russian foreign minister

said that the truce, formally referred to as a " cessation of hostilities", that had been in effect from 27 February 2016 at 00:00 (Damascus time),{{cite news, work=Reuters, date=26 February 2016, url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-un-idUSKCN0VZ2WM, title=U.N. demands Syria parties halt fighting, peace talks set for March 7, archive-date=23 April 2019, access-date=1 July 2017, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190423184451/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-un-idUSKCN0VZ2WM, url-status=live was largely holding and becoming more stable. According to the state–run

RIA Novosti RIA Novosti (), sometimes referred to as RIAN () or RIA (), is a Russian state-owned domestic news agency. On 9 December 2013, by a decree of Vladimir Putin, it was liquidated and its assets and workforce were transferred to the newly created ...

's report of 1 March 2016, all the planes at the Russian Khmeimim base had been grounded for four days. On 1 March, the Russian defense ministry said it had deployed to the Khmeimim base additional radars and drones: three sets of surveillance equipment which included drones and two radar stations. On 14 March 2016, Russian president Vladimir Putin announced that the mission which he had set for the Russian military in Syria was "on the whole accomplished" and ordered withdrawal of the "main part" of the Russian forces from Syria.{{cite news , url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-35807689 , title=Syria conflict: Russia's Putin orders 'main part' of forces out , work=

BBC World Service The BBC World Service is a British Public broadcasting, public service broadcaster owned and operated by the BBC. It is the world's largest external broadcaster in terms of reception area, language selection and audience reach. It broadcas ...

, date=14 March 2016 , access-date=14 March 2016 , archive-date=5 March 2022 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220305093822/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-35807689 , url-status=live The move was announced on the day when peace talks on Syria resumed in Geneva.{{cite news , last=Dyomkin , first=Denis , url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-russia-pullout-idUSKCN0WG23C , title=Putin orders start of Russian forces' withdrawal from Syria , work=

, date=14 March 2016 , access-date=14 March 2016 , archive-date=14 March 2016 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160314180041/http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-russia-pullout-idUSKCN0WG23C , url-status=live The Russian leader, however, did not give a deadline for the completion of the withdrawal. He also said that both Russian military bases in Syria ( naval base in Tartus and airbase in Khmeimim) will continue to operate in "routine mode", as the Russian servicemen there will be engaged in monitoring the ceasefire regime. In mid-March 2016, intensive operations by the Russian forces resumed to support the Syrian government's bid to recapture the city of Tadmur that includes the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

Palmyra Palmyra ( ; Palmyrene dialect, Palmyrene: (), romanized: ''Tadmor''; ) is an ancient city in central Syria. It is located in the eastern part of the Levant, and archaeological finds date back to the Neolithic period, and documents first menti ...

, which were fully recaptured from ISIS on 27 March. Following the recapture of the city, Russian de-mining teams engaged in the clearing of mines planted by ISIS in the ancient site of Palmyra. In early May 2016, news media reported that Russian ground forces had set up what

Jane's Information Group Janes is a global open-source intelligence company specialising in military, national security, aerospace and transport topics, whose name derives from British author Fred T. Jane. History Jane's Information Group was founded in 1898 by Fred T. ...

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. In mid-May 2016,

Stratfor Strategic Forecasting Inc., commonly known as Stratfor, is an American strategic intelligence publishing company founded in 1996. Stratfor's business model is to provide individual and enterprise subscriptions to Stratfor Worldview, its online p ...

reported that a Russian air base was attacked and four Russian attack helicopters, 20 supply trucks and one Syrian Mig-25 were destroyed.{{cite news, url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-36368346, title=Syria conflict: IS 'destroyed helicopters' at Russian base, publisher=BBC, date=24 May 2016, access-date=24 May 2016, archive-date=9 June 2019, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190609014936/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-36368346, url-status=live{{cite news, last1=Eremenko, first1=Alexey, last2=Ortiz, first2=Erik, url=https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/isis-terror/blasts-hit-syria-s-strategic-tiyas-base-used-russians-stratfor-n579471, title=Blasts Hit Syria's Strategic Tiyas Base Used by Russians: Stratfor, publisher=NBC News, date=24 May 2016, access-date=24 May 2016 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.{{cite web, url=https://www.foxnews.com/world/russian-attack-helicopters-destroyed-in-syria-us-officials-say-accident-to-blame, title=Russian attack helicopters destroyed in Syria; US officials say 'accident' to blame, publisher=Fox News, date=25 May 2016, access-date=25 May 2016, archive-date=9 February 2019, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190209151725/https://www.foxnews.com/world/russian-attack-helicopters-destroyed-in-syria-us-officials-say-accident-to-blame, url-status=live Russian firebombs in northern Aleppo

On 8 July 2016, a Syrian Mi-25 (a Russian Mi-35, according to other unofficial military sources) was destroyed on the ground from a United States-made

BGM-71 TOW The BGM-71 TOW ("Tube-launched, Optically tracked, wire-guided missile, Wire-guided", pronounced ) is an American anti-tank missile. TOW replaced much smaller missiles like the SS.10 and ENTAC, offering roughly twice the effective range, a more ...

east of Palmyra, with two Russian pilots confirmed dead. On 1 August 2016, a Russian Mi-8AMTSh transport helicopter was shot down on its way back to the Khmeimim base from a humanitarian mission to Aleppo by ground fire over Jabhat Fateh al-Sham-controlled area in Idlib province. Three crew members and two officers from the Russian Reconciliation Center for Syria were killed in the crush, then their corpses were desecrated by the rebels arrived on the scene. On 16 August 2016, Russian Tu-22M bombers and Su-34 strike fighters began to use Iran's Hamedan Airbase for conducting raids over Syria. For a period of time, from late June until the end of the Summer Aleppo campaign on 11 September, Russian Aerospace Forces and the

Russian naval infantry The Russian Naval Infantry (), often referred to as Russian Marines in the West, operate as the naval infantry of the Russian Navy. Established in 1705, they are capable of conducting amphibious operations as well as operating as more traditiona ...

advisors were heavily involved in the various battles against the rebels and their allies throughout the campaign, according to pro-Assad sources.{{cite web, url=https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/russian-troops-head-aleppo-city/, title=Russian troops head to Aleppo City, first=Leith, last=Fadel, date=29 August 2016, publisher= Al-Masdar News, access-date=30 August 2016, archive-date=9 October 2018, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181009120836/https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/russian-troops-head-aleppo-city/, url-status=dead Russia's air force took active part in the Syrian government's re-newed Aleppo offensive that began in late September 2016, one of the consequences being the U.S. government in early October suspending talks on Syria with Russia.{{cite web, url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/10/syria-war-aleppo-hospital-hit-time-161003154906472.html, publisher=Al Jazeera, title=Syria's war:US suspends, date=4 October 2016 The Russian tactics and weapons used in the offensive have been compared to those used in Grozny against Chechen separatists.{{cite news, title=The agony of Aleppo, url=https://www.economist.com/news/middle-east-and-africa/21707937-americas-ceasefire-deal-russia-never-stood-chance-agony-aleppo, access-date=12 October 2016, newspaper=

The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British newspaper published weekly in printed magazine format and daily on Electronic publishing, digital platforms. It publishes stories on topics that include economics, business, geopolitics, technology and culture. M ...

, date=1 October 2016{{cite news, title=Putin Is Playing by Grozny Rules in Aleppo, url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2016/09/29/putin-is-playing-by-chechen-rules-in-aleppo-syria-russia/, access-date=12 October 2016, work=FP{{cite news, author1=David Gardner, title=Russia aims to turn Aleppo into another Grozny, url=https://www.ft.com/content/5f59f6ee-84a4-11e6-8897-2359a58ac7a5, access-date=12 October 2016, work=Financial Times, date=28 September 2016{{cite news , first1=Alan , last1=Philps, title=Memories of Grozny drive Putin's Aleppo campaign, url=http://www.thenational.ae/opinion/comment/memories-of-grozny-drive-putins-aleppo-campaign, access-date=12 October 2016, work=The National, date=29 September 2016 The U.S. government publicly stated that Russia was committing ″flagrant violations of international law″ in Syria and urged investigation of war crimes.US-Russian Feud Over Syria Escalates with Talk of War Crimes
VOA, 7 October 2016.

Mid-October 2016 – December 2016

{{main, Aleppo offensive (October–November 2016), Aleppo offensive (November–December 2016) Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier

On 15 October 2016, the

aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and hangar facilities for supporting, arming, deploying and recovering carrier-based aircraft, shipborne aircraft. Typically it is the ...

{{ship, Russian aircraft carrier, Admiral Kuznetsov, , 2 sailed from Kola Bay at the centre of a

task group A task force (TF) is a unit or formation established to work on a single defined task or activity. Originally introduced by the United States Navy, the term has now caught on for general usage and is a standard part of NATO terminology. Many ...

, which included the ''Kirov''-class missile cruiser {{ship, Russian battlecruiser, Pyotr Velikiy, , 2, a pair of {{sclass, Udaloy, destroyer, 1s and other vessels, to deploy to the Mediterranean in support of Russian forces operating in Syria. Vzglyad, a media outlet loyal to the Kremlin, reported that the Russian government said there was a three-week partial hiatus in Russian airstrikes raids from 18 October.{{unreliable source?, date=May 2023 ''Admiral Kuznetsov''{{'s jets were reported to be flying off the Syrian coast on 8 November. On 14 November, a MiG-29K crashed en route back to the carrier following a planned mission over Syria, while an Su-33 crashed, again while trying to recover to ''Admiral Kuznetsov'' following a sortie on 5 December. Other ships as well as K-300P Bastion-P were also reported{{by whom, date=May 2023 to have taken part in a renewed bombing campaign on 17 November.{{citation needed, date=May 2023 In late November, satellite images emerged showing several of ''Admiral Kuznetsov''{{'s fixed wing aircraft operating from Hmeimim Air Base in

, with suggestions made that the number of

sortie A sortie (from the French word meaning ''exit'' or from Latin root ''surgere'' meaning to "rise up") is a deployment or dispatch of one military unit, be it an aircraft, ship, or troops, from a strongpoint. The term originated in siege warf ...

s flown from the carrier is less than has been suggested by the Russian

Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

. Problems with the ship's arrestor cables was cited as being part of the reason for the crash of the MiG-29K, which was circling the ship when it suffered an engine failure. At around the same time, an image was released by the Dutch frigate {{HNLMS, De Ruyter, F804, 6 showing the {{sclass2, Nanuchka, corvette, 2 ''Mirazh'' being towed back to the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...

. By mid-December 2016 the Syrian government, with the help of its allies including

, re-established control of Aleppo.

January 2017 – June 2017

{{see also, Syrian Civil War ceasefires#Third ceasefire attempt (December 2016 – February 2017), Palmyra offensive (2017), East Aleppo offensive (January–April 2017), Eastern Homs offensive (2017), Syrian Desert campaign (May–July 2017) On 1 January 2017, Russian and Turkish warplanes conducted joint airstrikes against ISIL as part of the

Battle of al-Bab The Battle of al-Bab was a battle for the city of al-Bab in the Aleppo Governorate that included a military offensive launched by Syrian rebel groups (including groups affiliated with the Free Syrian Army) and the Turkish Armed Forces north of al ...

.{{cite web, url=http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkey-russia-continue-joint-airstrikes-against-isil-near-al-bab.aspx?pageID=238&nID=108021&NewsCatID=352, title=Turkey, Russia continue joint airstrikes against ISIL near al-Bab, work=

Hürriyet Daily News The ''Hürriyet Daily News'', formerly ''Hürriyet Daily News and Economic Review'' and ''Turkish Daily News'', is the oldest current English-language daily in Turkey, founded in 1961. The paper was bought by the Doğan Media Group in 2001 and ...

, date=2 January 2017 On 6 January, the Russian Defense Ministry, with a reference to a Moscow/Ankara-brokered ceasefire effective as of 30 December 2016, announced the start of a drawdown of its forces from Syria, pursuant to a decision taken by President Putin; the first element scheduled to depart the region was announced to be the ''Admiral Kuznetsov'' battle group. However, five days afterwards, a

Fox News The Fox News Channel (FNC), commonly known as Fox News, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conservatism in the United States, conservative List of news television channels, news and political commentary Television stati ...

report cited ″two U.S. officials″ as saying that additional attack aircraft had been deployed by Russia to its airbase in Syria, namely four Su-25 jets had arrived on 9 January. On 13 January, the Syrian Arab Army launched an offensive against

ISIL The Islamic State (IS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Daesh, is a transnational Salafi jihadist organization and unrecognized quasi-state. IS occupied signif ...

in the Eastern

Homs Governorate Homs Governorate ( / ALA-LC: ''Muḥāfaẓat Ḥimṣ'') is one of the fourteen Governorates of Syria, governorates (provinces) of Syria. It is situated in central Syria. Its geography differs in various locations in the governorate, from to . ...

with the goal of recapturing

and its surrounding countryside. ISIL forces had retaken the city in a sudden counterattack. On 2 March 2017, the city of Palmyra was captured.{{citation needed, date=November 2020 On 5 March, a brand new offensive was launched which captured more than 230 square miles of territory around the city in a bid to expand the buffer zone around Palmyra.{{citation needed, date=May 2023 On 20 March, it was reported that Russia set up a training base in

Afrin Canton Afrin Canton (; ; ) was one of the cantons of Rojava. Syria's Afrin District fell under the control of the People's Protection Units (YPG) around 2012 and an "Afrin Canton" (now Afrin Region) was declared in 2014. Afrin Canton in its latest form ...

to train YPG units in order to combat terrorism; however, there were conflicting reports about where this base was set up, with

reporting it was in Jandairis and pro-government Al Masdar News locating it in the village of Kafr Jannah. At various times, Afrin was the target of artillery shelling by Islamist rebel groups as well as by

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

.{{cite web , url=https://www.newsdeeply.com/syria/community/2016/02/24/afrin-and-the-race-for-the-azaz-corridor , title=Afrin and the Race for the Azaz Corridor, author=Thomas Schmidinger, publisher=Newsdeeply, date=24 February 2016 , access-date=23 October 2016 In response, Russian troops reportedly stationed themselves in Afrin as part of an agreement to protect the YPG from further Turkish attacks. Russia scaled back its airstrikes in Syria in January and February, so that for the first time casualties due to US-led Coalition airstrikes in Syria and Iraq began to exceed casualties of Russian strikes in Syria. However, strikes increased in March 2017, with a reported 114 incidents with 165–292 reported non-combatant deaths, primarily in Idlib province, Hama and the Damascus eastern suburbs.{{cite web , title=International airstrikes and civilian casualty claims in Iraq and Syria: March 2017 , website=Airwars , date=13 April 2017 , url=https://airwars.org/report/international-airstrikes-and-civilian-casualty-claims-in-iraq-and-syria-march-2017/ , access-date=4 January 2019 In response to the downing of a Syrian government Su-22 plane by a U.S. fighter jet near the town of Tabqah in Raqqa province on 18 June 2017, Russia announced that U.S.-led coalition warplanes flying west of the Euphrates would be tracked by Russian anti-aircraft forces in the sky and on the ground and treated as targets; furthermore, the Russian military said they suspended the hotline with their U.S. counterparts based in Al Udeid. In the wake of the announcement, Australia suspended its military flights in Syria, while media reports stated that the U.S. might be edging towards a full-on confrontation with Russia and Iran in Syria. Nevertheless, on 27 June 2017, U.S. Secretary of Defense

Jim Mattis James Norman Mattis (born September 8, 1950) is an American military officer who served as the 26th United States secretary of defense from 2017 to 2019. A retired United States Marine Corps, Marine Corps four-star General (United States), gene ...

reassured the press: ″We deconflict with the Russians; it is a very active deconfliction line. It is on several levels, from the

chairman The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...

of the

Joint Chiefs The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) is the body of the most senior uniformed leaders within the United States Department of Defense, which advises the president of the United States, the United States Secretary of Defense, secretary of defense, ...

and the secretary of state with their counterparts in Moscow, General Gerasimov and Minister Lavrov. Then we've got a three-star deconfliction line that is out of the Joints Chiefs of Staff, out of the J5 there. Then we have battlefield deconfliction lines. One of them is three-star again, from our field commander in Baghdad, and one of them is from our CAOC, our Combined Air Operations Center, for real-time deconfliction.″

July 2017 – December 2017

On 24 July, the Russian military announced that Russia had begun to deploy

military police Military police (MP) are law enforcement agencies connected with, or part of, the military of a state. Not to be confused with civilian police, who are legally part of the civilian populace. In wartime operations, the military police may supp ...

to Syria to monitor a cease-fire in two new safe (de-escalation) zones that had been envisaged in the plan on four safe zones, tentatively agreed upon by Russia, Iran, and Turkey in May, and mapped out in early July by Russia, the U.S, and Jordan: checkpoints and monitoring posts around safe zones in southwest Syria and in Eastern Ghouta were said to have been set up. Another such deployment was effected in early August — north of the city of Homs. In August 2017, the Russian military announced that Al-Sukhnah town was captured from ISIS in early August with support of the Russian Aerospace Forces. Russian aviation said they had conducted 28,000 combat missions, and about 90,000 strikes as of late August 2017 during the operation in Syria. On 5 September 2017, the Russian defence ministry said that the breaking of the three-year siege of Deir ez-Zor had been effected with active participation of Russian aviation and navy. President Putin congratulated both President Bashar Assad and the Russian commanders on "a very important strategic victory" (in his spokesman's words). Humanitarian aid was delivered to pro-government inhabitants of the city by the Russian servicemen. The Russian aviation continued active support of the Syrian forces operating in Deir ez-Zor.Syrian forces break ISIS siege of Deir ez-Zor airfield after Russian air strike

TASS The Russian News Agency TASS, or simply TASS, is a Russian state-owned news agency founded in 1904. It is the largest Russian news agency and one of the largest news agencies worldwide. TASS is registered as a Federal State Unitary Enterpri ...

, 9 September 2017. The Russian military on 12 September said that 85 per cent of Syria's territory had been ″liberated from illegal armed formations″ and the operation would continue. On 16 September, the U.S.-led coalition officials said Russian warplanes had bombed U.S.-backed militants in Deir ez-Zor, U.S. Special Operations Forces advising the SDF being "at most a couple of miles" away from where the bomb struck; the statement was denied by the Russian defence ministry. According to the Russian defence ministry, the Military Police platoon (29 servicemen) deployed as part of the de-escalation observation forces in the Idlib de-escalation zone was on 19 September encircled by rebels, including Jabhat al-Nusra, as a result of their offensive against the Syrian troops positioned north and northeast of Hama; the encirclement was breached by Russian forces in a special operation leaving three servicemen of the Russian Special Operations Forces were wounded. The Russian ministry stated that according to their intelligence, the rebels' ″offensive was initiated by the US special agencies in order to stop successful advance of the Syrian Arab Army to the east from Deir ez-Zor″. The Russian ministry's statement on the U.S.' role in the rebels' offensive was the following day endorsed by president Vladimir Putin's spokesman. On 21 September, the Russian MoD, in connection with what it called the U.S.-supported SDF having twice attacked positions of the Syrian Army in the Deir ez-Zor governorate with mortar and rocket fire, said: "Russia unequivocally told the commanders of U.S. forces in

Al Udeid Air Base Al Udeid Air Base () is one of two military bases southwest of Doha, Qatar, also known as Abu Nakhlah Airport (). It houses the Qatar Emiri Air Force, United States Air Force, Royal Air Force, and other foreign forces. It is host to a forward h ...

(Qatar) that it will not tolerate any shelling from the areas where the SDF are stationed. Fire from positions in regions ontrolled by the SDFwill be suppressed by all means necessary." In early October, the Russian MoD continued to state that the U.S. forces were disguisedly supporting of the ISIL's attacks on Syrian government forces, especially from the area at Al-Tanf, and stated: "If the United States views such operations as unforeseen 'coincidences,' then the Russian air force in Syria is prepared to begin the complete destruction of all such 'coincidences' in the zones under their control." The MoD statement of 6 October referred to ″unlawful establishment by the U.S. of l-Tanfmilitary base″ and called it ″a 100-kilometre black hole" on the Syria-Jordan border. On 11 December, days after declaring Syria had been "completely liberated" from ISIL and with the campaign liberating the western bank of the Euphrates in its final days, Russian president

visited the Russian base in Syria, where he announced that he had ordered the partial withdrawal of the forces deployed to Syria. Several hours later, Sergei Shoigu said the troops had already begun to return. On 26 December, defence minister Sergey Shoigu said that Russia had set about ″forming a permanent grouping" at the Tartus naval facility and the Hmeymim airbase, after president Putin approved the structure and the personnel strength of the Tartus and Hmeymim bases.Россия начала формировать постоянную группировку в Тартусе и Хмеймиме
TASS, 26 December 2017.{{Cite news, url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-russia-bases/russia-establishing-permanent-presence-at-its-syria-bases-ria-cites-minister-idUSKBN1EK0HD, title=Russia establishing permanent presence at its Syria bases: RIA, date=26 December 2017, work=Reuters On the same day, the upper chamber of parliament approved the ratification of an agreement between Russia and Syria on expanding the Tartus naval facility, which envisages turning it into a full-fledged naval base. At the end of December 2017, Sergei Shoigu claimed that the Russian military had eliminated several thousand "terrorists", while 48,000 Russian armed forces members had "gained combat experience" during the Russian operation in Syria.

January 2018 – August 2018

{{main, Northwestern Syria campaign (October 2017 – February 2018), Rif Dimashq offensive (February–April 2018), 2018 Southern Syria offensive In January—February 2018, the Russian air force continued to provide combat support to the Syrian Army in its offensive operations in the

Hama Governorate Hama Governorate ( / ALA-LC: ''Muḥāfaẓat Ḥamā'') is one of the 14 Governorates of Syria, governorates of Syria. It is situated in western-central Syria, bordering Idlib Governorate, Idlib and Aleppo Governorates to the north, Raqqa Gove ...

and the

Idlib Governorate Idlib Governorate ( / ALA-LC: ''Muḥāfaẓat Idlib'') is one of the 14 governorates of Syria. It is situated in northwestern Syria, bordering Turkey's Hatay province to the north, Aleppo Governorate to the east, Hama Governorate to the sou ...

. The Russian forces stationed in Syria lost a Su-25SM in the

Idlib province Idlib Governorate ( / ALA-LC: ''Muḥāfaẓat Idlib'') is one of the 14 governorates of Syria. It is situated in northwestern Syria, bordering Turkey's Hatay province to the north, Aleppo Governorate to the east, Hama Governorate to the south, ...

on 3 February 2018. Following reports about multiple Russian private contractor casualties in the U.S. air and artillery strike on pro-government forces near the town of Khasham in the Deir ez-Zor Governorate that occurred on 7 February 2018, the contingent of regular Russian forces stationed in Syria appeared to have been reinforced,В Сирии замечены новейшие российские истребители – на фоне активизации армии Асада и недовольства действиями США
NEWSru, 22 February 2018. though numerous witnesses of the strike dismissed the reports as untrue and did not confirm Russian mercenary participation. Namely, in mid-February, several Russian newest fifth generation

Sukhoi Su-57 The Sukhoi Su-57 (; NATO reporting name: Felon) is a twin-engine stealth multirole fighter aircraft developed by Sukhoi. It is the product of the PAK FA (, prospective aeronautical complex of front-line aviation) programme, which was in ...

fighter aircraft were deployed to the Khmeimim air base in Syria; the deployment was interpreted by commentators as a possible response to the deployment of U.S. fifth-generation

Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor The Lockheed Martin/Boeing F-22 Raptor is an American Twinjet, twin-engine, Jet engine, jet-powered, Night fighter, all-weather, supersonic Stealth aircraft, stealth fighter aircraft. As a product of the United States Air Force's Advanced Ta ...

, which took part in the 7 February strike.СМИ сообщили о прибытии еще двух истребителей Су-57 в Сирию‍
RIA Novosti, 24 February 2018. In June and July 2018, Russian forces actively supported the Syrian Army in the successful execution of the Southern Syria offensive, which resulted in the Syrian government's complete control of Daraa and

Quneitra Quneitra (also Al Qunaytirah, Qunaitira, or Kuneitra; , ''al-Qunayṭrah'' or ''al-Qunayṭirah'' ) is the largely destroyed and abandoned capital of the Quneitra Governorate in south-western Syria. It is situated in a high valley in the Golan ...

provinces. In August, Russia began to set up observation posts in Quneitra, along the UN-patrolled demilitarised zone in the

Golan Heights The Golan Heights, or simply the Golan, is a basaltic plateau at the southwest corner of Syria. It is bordered by the Yarmouk River in the south, the Sea of Galilee and Hula Valley in the west, the Anti-Lebanon mountains with Mount Hermon in t ...

; plans for eight such Russian-manned posts were announced. By mid-August, four such

-manned posts along the Bravo line were set up. At the end of August, the Russian media reported Russia was building up the largest ever naval grouping in eastern Mediterranean that included the cruiser ''Marshal Ustinov'' and all the three {{sclass, Admiral Grigorovich, frigate, 4 frigates in service, including the latest ''Admiral Makarov''. Speaking after talks with the Saudi Arabian foreign minister Adel al-Jubeir in Moscow on 29 August, Russia's foreign minister, in a reference to the Idlib rebel-held enclave, said, " is festering abscess needs to be liquidated.″ Additionally, the Russian Embassy in Washington, D.C. published ambassador Anatoly Antonov's warning to the U.S. against ″yet another unprovoked and illegal aggression against Syria" on the pretext of a staged chemical attack. On 30 August, the Russian MoD said it would conduct large-scale drills in eastern Mediterranean that would involve 25 ships and 30 planes. The drills would take place from 1 September until 8 September and the area would be closed for other countries' vessels and aircraft. The announcement was made amidst reports of the impending Syrian government's offensive in the Idlib province and anticipated military reaction on the part of the U.S.

September 2018 – March 2019

{{main, As-Suwayda offensive (August–November 2018) On 17 September 2018, during multiple missile strikes by Israeli F-16 jets at targets in western Syria, Russia's Il-20

ELINT Signals intelligence (SIGINT) is the act and field of intelligence-gathering by interception of ''signals'', whether communications between people (communications intelligence—abbreviated to COMINT) or from electronic signals not directly u ...

reconnaissance plane returning to Khmeimim Air Base, with 15 Russian servicemen on board, was inadvertently downed by a Syrian S-200 surface-to-air missile. Russia's defence minister the following day blamed Israel's military for the accidentШойгу: Россия не оставит без ответа действия Израиля, приведшие к гибели экипажа Ил-20: Глава Минобороны РФ заявил, что израильские истребители нанесли удары без предупреждения
TASS, 18 September 2018. and re-affirmed its stance in a minute-by-minute report presented on 23 September.Минобороны РФ предоставило факты, указывающие на вину Израиля в крушении Ил-20 в Сирии: В ведомстве отметили, что действия израильских летчиков-истребителей говорят как минимум о преступной халатности

, 23 September 2018.Создали угрозу: Российские военные целиком возложили вину за гибель самолета Ил-20 на Израиль

, 23 September 2018. Early on 20 September, Russia's government-run news agency reported Russia had announced multiple areas of eastern Mediterranean ″near Syria, Lebanon, and Cyprus" shut for air and sea traffic until 26 September, due to the Russian Navy's drills in the area. Following the shoot down incident, Shoigu on 24 September said that within two weeks, the Syrian army would receive S-300 air-defense missile systems to strengthen Syria's combat air defence capabilities; a series of other military measures were announced such as radio-electronic jamming of "satellite navigation, onboard radars and communications systems used by military aircraft attacking targets in Syrian territory", in the areas of the Mediterranean off the Syrian coast.Syria to get Russia's S-300 air-defense missile system within two weeks
TASS, 24 September 2018.Россия передаст Сирии С-300 в течение двух недель

Kommersant (, , ''The Businessman'' or Commerce Man, often shortened to Ъ) is a nationally distributed daily newspaper published in Russia mostly devoted to politics and business. The TNS Media and NRS Russia certified July 2013 circulation of the daily ...

, 24 September 2018. On 8 November, according to the Russian MOD, Russian special forces stationed at the Russian Reconciliation Center either directly participated or guided the Syrian Arab Army in a successful special operation which rescued all the 19 remaining hostages alive, held by ISIL north-east of

. Some reports stated the possibility of Russian special forces being covertly deployed in the province of al-Suwayda to support the Syrian Army advance on ISIS positions in the al-Safa area for the remainder of the offensive.
{{cite news , last=Frantzman , first=Seth J. , title=ISIS releases six Druze hostages , publisher=The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com , date=20 October 2018 , url=https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/ISIS-releases-six-Druze-hostages-569832 , access-date=29 October 2018{{cite news , title=ISIS releases six of 27 Druze hostages in Syria , work=The National , url=https://www.thenational.ae/world/mena/isis-releases-six-of-27-druze-hostages-in-syria-1.782383 , access-date=29 October 2018{{cite news , title=Islamic State releases six Syrian hostages who were kidnapped in July , work=Haaretz , date=20 October 2018 , url=https://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/isis/islamic-state-releases-six-syrian-hostages-who-were-kidnapped-in-july-1.6574416 , access-date=29 October 2018{{cite news , title=ISIS 'releases six' of 27 Druze hostages in exchange for prisoner swap, ransom , publisher=Al Arabiya English , date=20 October 2018 , url=http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2018/10/20/ISIS-releases-six-of-27-Druze-hostages-in-exchange-for-prisoner-swap-ransom.html , access-date=29 October 2018 The Russian Ministry of Defense reported that 68,000 Russian army servicemen had so far taken part in the Syrian intervention by 3 January 2019. On 8 January 2019, Russian military units began patrolling areas in and around the vicinity of

Manbij Manbij (; ; ) is a city in the northeast of Aleppo Governorate in northern Syria, west of the Euphrates. The 2004 census gives its population as nearly 100,000.

, including

Arima Arima, officially The Royal Chartered Borough of Arima is the easternmost and second largest in area of the three boroughs of Trinidad and Tobago. It is geographically adjacent to Sangre Grande and Arouca at the south central foothills of the ...

.{{cite news , last=Sly , first=Liz , title=Turkey and the Kurds turn to Russia to solve problems sparked by U.S. exit from Syria , newspaper=The Washington Post , date=2019-01-09 , url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/turkey-and-the-kurds-turn-to-russia-to-solve-problems-sparked-by-us-exit-from-syria/2019/01/09/7328cbba-142a-11e9-ab79-30cd4f7926f2_story.html , access-date=2020-04-28 On 13 March 2019, the Russian defence ministry said its jets had bombed Hayat Tahrir al-Sham's targets in the city of Idlib, the operation having been cleared with Turkey. According to mass media reports, a displacement camp, as well as a prison were hit.

April 2019 – September 2019

{{main, Northwestern Syria offensive (April–August 2019) Fighting intensified in Idlib and nearby areas at the end of April 2019, Syrian and Russian forces striking the rebel targets. On 13 June, the Russian military said fighting in the Idlib de-escalation zone had subsided as a result of a ceasefire agreement reached on Russia's initiative that came into force the day prior. By 10 July 2019, the government offensive in Idlib was judged to have reached a standstill, Russia's ties with Turkey cited as the main brake on any full-scale attempt to take the entire northwest. On 18 July, rebel commanders were cited by

as saying that Russia had sent special forces to fight alongside Syrian army troops in northwestern Syria; Russia's defense ministry said these were false allegations. On 29 August, the warplanes of Assad regime and Russia killed seven civilians in attacks in northwestern Syria. The region had been under cease-fire. Officially, the campaign ended the next day on 30 August after a ceasefire was agreed upon by both the Syrian Arab Army and the rebels that would take effect on 31 August. Some skirmishes have taken place since September as fighting is still reported. Overall, it was a major advance in the Idlib deescalation zone for the Syrian Army after the complete liberation of Southern

October 2019

On 13 October 2019, Russian ground forces, along with the Syrian army entered and took the SDF-held areas on northeastern Syria following an agreement reached between the SDF and the Syrian government, shortly after

commenced its cross-border incursion into the Kurdish-dominated region and the U.S. troops withdrew from the area.{{cite web, url=https://thedefensepost.com/2019/10/13/syria-government-russia-kobani-manbij-sdf/, title=Syrian government forces set to enter Kobani and Manbij after SDF deal, date=13 October 2019, website=The Defense Post, language=en-US, access-date=13 October 2019 Russia's military police units began patrolling the town of

Manbij Manbij (; ; ) is a city in the northeast of Aleppo Governorate in northern Syria, west of the Euphrates. The 2004 census gives its population as nearly 100,000.

November 2019 – September 2020

{{main, Northwestern Syria offensive (December 2019–March 2020), 2020 Balyun airstrikes On 2 November 2019, Russian aviation struck a concentration of militants in the area of Jisr al-Shughur in the

. The massive bombing came two days after Bashar al-Assad issued an ultimatum to the militants in the area demanding that they leave or surrender. 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. The Russian-supported Syrian government offensive successfully continued into 2020, achieving, among other objectives, the establishment of full government control of the area along the entire M5 highway for first time since 2012. Meanwhile, relations between Russia and Turkey, which was sending heavy armour and thousands of its regular troops to fight on the side of the rebels in a bid to stem the government offensive, strained significantly and direct Russian strikes on regular Turkish forces were reported, Turkey's president Erdogan announcing an imminent Turkish intervention in the area. On 20 February, Turkish defence minister

Hulusi Akar Hulusi Akar (born 12 March 1952) is a retired four-star Turkish Armed Forces general who served as the Minister of National Defense from 2018 to 2023. He previously served as the 29th chief of the Turkish General Staff. Akar also served as a bri ...

told the news media there should be "no doubt" that Turkey would activate the S-400 missile systems it had bought from Russia in 2019. On 27 February 2020, according to reports from the scene, two Russian Su-34s conducted an airstrike on a Turkish military convoy killing at least 34 Turkish regular troops. Turkey did not officially blame Russia for the airstrike while Russia denied responsibility saying that the

Syrian Air Force The Syrian Air Force () is the air force branch of the Syrian Armed Forces. It was established in 1948, and first saw action in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. Under Ba'athist Syria until December 8, 2024, it was known as the Syrian Arab Air Forc ...

was likely behind the strike.{{Cite news, url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/02/27/syrian-rebel-forces-recapture-key-town-blow-assad/ , archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/02/27/syrian-rebel-forces-recapture-key-town-blow-assad/ , archive-date=12 January 2022 , url-access=subscription , url-status=live, title=Airstrike kills 33 Turkish soldiers in Syria while Russia says troops were amongst 'terrorists', date=2020-02-28, website=The Telegraph, access-date=2020-03-01, last1=Rose, first1=David G.{{cbignore According to Russia's defence ministry, Turkish service people "were in the battle formations of terrorist groups" when they came under the fire of Syrian troops. 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.{{cite web, url=https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-turkey-tensions-idlib-syria-pundits-past-and-potential-bloodshed/30464903.html, title=As Tensions Rise Over Idlib, Russian Pundits Blame Turkey For Past And Potential Bloodshed , date=2020-03-02, publisher=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, access-date=2020-03-03 On 2 March, according to Saily Sabah and

, Russian military announced that Russia's Military Police forces had been deployed to Saraqib following weeks of heavy fighting for control of this strategic town that saw it change hands several times; the declared objective was to secure safe passage of vehicles and civilians travelling along the M4 and M5 highways.Российская военная полиция введена в Саракиб: Российские военные будут обеспечивать безопасность при передвижении автотранспорта и мирных граждан по трассам М4 – М5

On 15 March, Russian and Turkish forces started joint-patrols on the M4 highway as a part of a ceasefire agreement between Russia and Turkey. According to Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, Russian military forces will patrol the southern side while Turkey's military will patrol to the north of the highway. On 18 August, a Russian major general was killed and two servicemen were injured by a roadside bomb in Syria while en route to Hmeimim Air Base from Deir ez-Zor. In mid-September, Russian news media published officially unverified reports about "most powerful strikes" carried out on 15 September by Russian aviation as well as Iskander missiles against "terrorists", including

, near the town of Maarrat Misrin.

Since October 2020

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. On 19 April 2021, Russian warplanes executed airstrikes on militant facilities in central Syria, northeast the city of

according to the Russian Reconciliation Center in Syria. The Russian Defence Ministry claimed that some 200 militants along with 24 vehicles with weapons and 500 kilograms of ammunitions and explosives were destroyed in the operation without specifying the affiliation of the militants. The SOHR confirmed the airstrikes but stated that only 26 ISIS militants were killed in the region. In May 2021, Russia said that three Tu-22Ms became the first bombers deployed to the Khmeymim airbase in Syria with the aim of enhancing the stability in the region. On 17 May 2022, a Russian operated S-300 missile system is said to have fired a missile at a F-16 operated by the IAF. If confirmed it would be the first time Russian forces have fired on Israeli jets. It is also possible Russian forces have handed the missile system over to Syrian forces. In late May 2022, amid growing concerns of a new Turkish military incursion into northern Syria, Russia sent military reinforcements to Qamishli Airport. On 10 June 2022, Russia had conducted joint military exercises with the Syrian Army south of Idlib. Russia had also dispatched an additional eight military helicopters to Abu al-Duhur Military Airbase, south of Aleppo. During the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Russia is reported to be withdrawing (since May) its troops from Syria as reinforcements to its dwindling forces in Ukraine; according to Moscow Times (16 September 2022), the re-deployment of Russia's last reserves in Syria is under way. During the year of 2022, the SOHR reported that at least 3,935 airstrikes were conducted by Russian forces in 2022 and that 159 ISIS militants were killed and another 255 were injured by Russian airstrikes on Islamic State positions throughout the country. As of summer 2023, Russia had 20 military bases in Syria as well as 85 other military points, the majority in Hama, Al-Hasakah, Latakia and Aleppo provinces. In March 2023, President Assad told Russian media that "increasing the number of Russian military bases in Syrian territory might be necessary in the future because Russia's presence in Syria is linked to the global balance of power."{{cite web , title=Syria has 830 foreign military sites. 70% belong to Iran , website=Al Majalla , date=19 August 2023 , url=https://en.majalla.com/node/297751 , access-date=21 August 2023

2024 Syrian opposition offensive

As of 2024, the Russian operational group in Syria consisted of special forces units, base security units, and part of an Air Force unit, maintained on a rotational basis.{{Cite web , title=Here we go again The Syrian civil war is suddenly unfrozen. How much can Russia afford to support the Assad regime this time? , date=3 December 2024 , publisher=

Meduza ''Meduza'' (Russian: Медуза, named after the Greek goddess Medusa) is a Russian- and English-language independent news website, headquartered in Riga, Latvia. It was founded in 2014 by a group of former employees of the then-independent ...

, url=https://meduza.io/en/feature/2024/12/03/the-syrian-civil-war-is-suddenly-unfrozen-how-much-can-russia-afford-to-support-the-assad-regime-this-time , access-date=8 December 2024 During the Northwestern Syrian offensive in 2024, the Russian Air Force renewed operations - conducting a number of airstrikes since the militants launched their offensive against Assad's forces in late November. The airstrikes were however limited and instead bombed civilian targets in the Idlib and Hama regions, specifically urban neighbourhoods and refugee camps, including Morek, Khan Sheikhoun, Kanfranbel, Hazarin and Tal Kawkabah. At least 50 people are reported to have been killed by the airstrikes. On November 29 rebel forces had entered Aleppo. The day after several more settlements were seized, with the rebels entering

and

. On 7 December 2024, the outskirts of

were reached by rebel forces. Following Damascus's seizure, Russia confirmed that Assad had left Syria and had stepped down. This was followed by an announcement by the Syrian army command to officers that the Assad regime had ended. Following the rapid disintegration of Syrian republic forces and the swift advance by the Syrian opposition forces, Russian airstrikes increased, but they were unable to stop any of the offensives. On 30 November, the Deir ez-Zor offensive conducted by opposition forces managed to consolidate a hold in the industrial zones of the city of

. Russian forces on the ground operating in the area were thus forced to coordinate a withdrawal of military equipment and personnel from multiple headquarters of the city, relocating these assets on the eastern bank of the

before pulling out all together the following day.

Fall of the Assad regime

Russian intervention ceased on 6 December after an airstrike failed to sever the key Homs-Hama 'Al-Rastan' bridge (merely damaging it) - opposition forces thus captured Homs with ease. Following this, Russia was unable to help Assad's forces any further, and their forces began evacuating its military fleet from bases in western Syria. The Russian embassy at Damascus was also in

lockdown A lockdown () is a restriction policy for people, community or a country to stay where they are, usually due to specific risks that could possibly harm the people if they move and interact freely. The term is used for a prison protocol that us ...

following the rebel capture of the city; Russia also ordered their citizens to flee the country. The two Russian bases in Syria had also been cut off creating a tense standoff - the airbase at Hmeimim airbase, and also the naval facility at Tartous. Russia vowed swift responses if these two were attacked, but Syrian opposition leaders have guaranteed the safety of the Russian bases as well as the diplomatic missions which have remained inside Syria. On 14 December 2024, Russian forces were withdrawing some of its forces from northern Syria and posts in the Alawite Mountains. They left in a convoy, heading towards the naval base at Tartous. In addition several large transport aircraft had arrived at Khmeimim air base, whilst helicopters and air defences were being disassembled. According to Syrian officials, Russia was not however pulling out of the bases and currently had no intention of doing so. On January 24 Syria terminated the investment agreement that granted Russia the operation of Tartous for 49 years. This meant that Russia would have to withdraw from the naval port at some point.

Assessments of tactics and effectiveness

By late February 2016, the Russian Air Force conducted around 60 airstrikes daily, while the American-led coalition averaged seven. Pro-government website Al-Masdar News said that these Russian airstrikes have proven particularly effective against the ISIS oil trade and supply routes in the

Syrian Desert The Syrian Desert ( ''Bādiyat Ash-Shām''), also known as the North Arabian Desert, the Jordanian steppe, or the Badiya, is a region of desert, semi-desert, and steppe, covering about of West Asia, including parts of northern Saudi Arabia, ea ...

. An estimated 209 oil facilities were destroyed by the airstrikes, along with over 2,000 petroleum transports. 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. The Russian military followed the Chechnya Counter-Insurgency model, and "a revanchist Russia, even with a stagnated mono-industrial economy surprised the international community with the pace of attack and will to sustain the operation." 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." Gupta continued: {{blockquote, 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. Russian help provides Assad's military the distinct possibilities to regain the upper hand in the conflict, particularly in northwestern and western Syria at least.{{cite journal, last1=Gupta, first1=Ranjit, title=Understanding the War in Syria and the Roles of External Players: Way Out of the Quagmire?, journal=The Round Table: The Commonwealth Journal of International Affairs, date=Jan 2016, volume=105, issue=1, page=6, doi=10.1080/00358533.2016.1128630, s2cid=155974687 In February 2016, Professor Fawaz A. Gerges of the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...

opined the Russian military intervention had turned out to be a game-changer in the Syrian Civil War:{{cite news , first=Fawaz A. , last=Gerges , author-link=Fawaz Gerges , url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-35562943 , title=Syria war: Tide turns Assad's way amid ceasefire push , work=

, date=13 February 2016 , access-date=15 March 2016 ″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.″ Vincent R. Stewart,

Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency The Director of the United States Defense Intelligence Agency is a military officer who, upon nomination by the President of the United States and confirmation by the Senate, serves as the United States' highest-ranking military intelligence offi ...

, 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". Western media and analysts conclude that Russia's intervention in Syria kept Assad in power and even turned the tide of the war in his favour. In the week following the start of combat missions, the website RealClear Defense, part of the

RealClearPolitics RealClearPolitics (RCP) is an American political news website and polling data aggregator. It was founded in 2000 by former options trader John McIntyre and former advertising agency account executive Tom Bevan. It features selected polit ...

group, published an assessment of the effectiveness of the '' Admiral Kuznetsov'' as a platform for airstrikes, noting the small size of its air group (estimated at a total of eight

and four

aircraft), the difficulties with the MiG-29K, which is seen as the more effective platform for strike missions, the smaller amounts of smart weapons for the Su-33 (which is primarily a fleet air defence aircraft), and the lack of

aircraft catapult An aircraft catapult is a device used to help fixed-wing aircraft gain enough airspeed and lift for takeoff from a limited distance, typically from the deck of a ship. They are usually used on aircraft carrier flight decks as a form of assist ...

s on the carrier, which limits the take-off weight of its aircraft. Five years into the intervention, Russian strategy had prevented the total collapse of Assad's Ba'athist government and rolled back the territorial advances made by

Syrian rebels A number of states and armed groups have involved themselves in the Syrian civil war (2011–present) as belligerents. The main groups were Ba'athist Syria and allies, Syrian opposition, the Syrian opposition and allies, Al-Qaeda and affiliate ...

. As a result, Russia had become more active in

, prompting many analysts to discuss a "Russian resurgence" and even draw comparisons to Cold War-era geo-political tensions. Russian tactics and weapons used in the offensive have been compared to those used in the Battle of Grozny (1999–2000) against Chechen separatists. During the 2024 Syrian opposition offensives in November, Russian intervention, using airstrikes, special forces and artillery was not sufficient to halt the Syrian Opposition forces. The latter swiftly captured vast swathes of territory including

on 7 December which forced Bashar al-Assad to flee, ending his regime altogether and prompting a Russian withdrawal.

Weapons and munitions employed

Russian forces in Syria were reported to have used a mix of

precision-guided munition A precision-guided munition (PGM), also called a smart weapon, smart munition, or smart bomb, is a type of weapon system that integrates advanced guidance and control systems, such as Global Positioning System, GPS, laser guidance, or Infrared ...

s and unguided weapons.{{cite web, url=http://nationalinterest.org/blog/the-buzz/russias-half-baked-air-war-syria-14022 , title=Russia's Half-Baked Air War in Syria , last1=Majumdar , first1=Dave , date=6 October 2015 , website=The National Interest , access-date=20 October 2015{{cite web, title = Syria: Russia's shameful failure to acknowledge civilian killings {{! Amnesty International, date=23 December 2015 , url = https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2015/12/syria-russias-shameful-failure-to-acknowledge-civilian-killings/, publisher = Amnesty International, access-date = 25 December 2015 The October 2015 airstrikes were Russia's first operational use of precision-guided munitions, whose development in Russia lagged behind other major powers. The majority of weapons employed, however, were unguided.{{cite web, last=Bodner, first=Matthew, title=Russia Shows Early Success, New Capabilities in Syria, publisher=Defense News, date=18 October 2015, access-date=21 October 2015, url=http://www.defensenews.com/story/defense/policy-budget/warfare/2015/10/18/russia-shows-early-success-new-capabilities-syria/74041722/ Most Russian jets employ the SVP-24 guidance system, which allows them to use unguided munitions with high precision, close to the precision of guided ones, with substantially smaller costs. Russia also used

cruise missile A cruise missile is an unmanned self-propelled guided missile that sustains flight through aerodynamic lift for most of its flight path. Cruise missiles are designed to deliver a large payload over long distances with high precision. Modern cru ...

s launched from

corvette A corvette is a small warship. It is traditionally the smallest class of vessel considered to be a proper (or " rated") warship. The warship class above the corvette is that of the frigate, while the class below was historically that of the sloo ...

s, {{sclass, Admiral Grigorovich, frigate, 4

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and maneuvera ...

s, and Kilo-class submarines, as well as artillery in the form of

howitzer The howitzer () is an artillery weapon that falls between a cannon (or field gun) and a mortar. It is capable of both low angle fire like a field gun and high angle fire like a mortar, given the distinction between low and high angle fire break ...

s and

multiple rocket launcher A multiple rocket launcher (MRL) or multiple launch rocket system (MLRS) is a type of rocket artillery system that contains multiple rocket launcher, launchers which are fixed to a single weapons platform, platform, and shoots its rocket (weapon ...

s. The air campaign was estimated to cost between $2.3 and $4 million a day in its early phase. The 3M-14T cruise missiles, that Russia has used extensively, cost roughly $1.2 million per unit. Russian defense minister Sergei Shoigu said in August 2021 that Russia had tested more than 300 weapons over the course of its campaign in Syria.{{cite news , title=All of Russia's latest weapons tested in Syria, says defense chief , url=https://tass.com/defense/1331715 , publisher=TASS , date=30 August 2021

Civilian casualties and war crimes

{{see also, April 2016 Idlib bombings, Atarib market massacre, Siege of Eastern Ghouta, Battle of Aleppo (2012–2016), Ma'arrat al-Numan market bombing {{Further, Russian–Syrian hospital bombing campaign 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 A civilian casualty occurs when a civilian is killed or injured by non-civilians, mostly law enforcement officers, military personnel, rebel group forces, or terrorists. Under the law of war, it refers to civilians who perish or suffer wounds ...

; which has aggravated the Syrian refugee crisis. Between September 2015 and March 2019, Russian aerial campaigns alone resulted in an estimated 18,150 deaths; including 8000 civilians, consisting of thousands of women and children. Approximately 5,000 of the combatants killed in bombings were rebel fighters and another 5,000 were members of the Islamic State. Around 25,000 children were killed and an estimated 1,197 schools have been destroyed by the combined attacks of Ba'athist and Russian military forces, between March 2011 and November 2021. Scorched earth tactics have been a major component of Russian-backed military campaign against opposition militias. Throughout the campaign, Russian airforce and allied ground troops implemented " starve-or-submit" strategy while besieging towns and cities held by rebel forces. According to

, in late February 2016, Russian warplanes deliberately targeted civilians and rescue workers during their bombing campaign. The human rights group has documented attacks on schools, hospitals and civilian homes. Amnesty International also said that "Russia is guilty of some the most egregious war crimes" it had seen "in decades". The director of Amnesty's crisis response program, Tirana Hassan, said that after bombing civilian targets, the Russian warplanes "loop around" for a second attack to target the humanitarian workers and civilians who are trying to help those have been injured in the first sortie.{{cite news, author=Peter Yeung , url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/russia-civilians-war-crimes-amnesty-international-a6887096.html , title=Russia committing war crimes by deliberately bombing civilians and aid workers, says Amnesty International , newspaper=

, access-date=28 February 2016 In February 2016,

(HRW) reported extensive use of

cluster munition A cluster munition is a form of air-dropped or ground-launched explosive weapon that releases or ejects smaller submunitions. Commonly, this is a cluster bomb that ejects explosive bomblets that are designed to kill personnel and destroy veh ...

s by Syria and Russia, in violation of United Nations resolution 2139 of 22 February 2014, which demanded that all parties end "indiscriminate employment of weapons in populated areas". HRW said that "Russian or Syrian forces were responsible for the attacks" and that the munitions were "manufactured in the former Soviet Union or Russia" and that some were of a type that had "not been documented as used in Syria" prior to Russia's involvement in the war, which they said, suggested that "either Russian aircraft dropped them or Russian authorities recently provided the Syrian government with more cluster munitions, or both".{{cite web, url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2015/12/20/russia/syria-extensive-recent-use-cluster-munitions , title=Russia/Syria: Extensive Recent Use of Cluster Munitions , publisher=Human Rights Watch , date=20 December 2015 , access-date=28 February 2016 HRW also said that while neither Russia nor Syria are parties to the Cluster Munitions Convention, the use of such munitions contradicts statements issued by the Syrian government that they would refrain from using them. In February 2016,

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF; pronounced ), known in some English-speaking settings as Doctors Without Borders, is a charity that provides humanitarian medical care. It is a non-governmental organisation (NGO) of French origin known for its projects in conflict zo ...

has said that either "Syrian regime" or Russian warplanes deliberately attacked a hospital in Ma'arrat al-Nu'man. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights stated that it was Russian warplanes that destroyed the hospital. 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. In 2016, opposition activists and local witnesses have reported that Russia has used white phosphorus against targets in

and

, causing civilian casualties with the weapons.{{cite news, last1=Withnall, first1=Adam, title=Chemical weapon white phosphorous ic'being used in Raqqa air strikes', url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/is-russia-or-france-deploying-chemical-weapons-against-isis-in-raqqa-a6745171.html, access-date=6 January 2016, work=The Independent, date=23 November 2015 U.S. officials repeatedly stated that hospitals in Syria were attacked by Russian forces.{{cite news , first=Michael R. , last=Gordon , title=Report Rebuts Russia's Claims of Restraint in Syrian Bombing Campaign , url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/12/us/politics/russia-syria-aleppo-bombing-campaign-restraint.html, work=

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

, date=12 February 2017 , access-date=31 March 2017 The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that by mid-February 2016, Russian air strikes had killed 1,000 civilians, including 200 children, since the initiation of the intervention in September 2015. In March 2016,

reported "compelling evidence" of at least six such attacks. These reports, including the bombing of two hospitals by Russian Air Force planes, have been denied by Russian officials.{{cite web, url=http://ria.ru/syria_chronicle/20160211/1372793019.html, title=Минобороны России: штурмовики США в среду нанесли удары по Алеппо, website=РИА Новости, date=11 February 2016 , access-date=3 March 2016 In May 2016 the Russian delegation to the UN Security Council vetoed a statement condemning the air strikes on a refugee camp in Idlib on 5 May. In June 2016,

Russia Today RT, formerly Russia Today (), is a Russian state-controlled international news television network funded by the Russian government. It operates pay television and free-to-air channels directed to audiences outside of Russia, as well as pro ...

, 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. After this information, inconsistent with official Russian statements, the video was removed but later reinstated and uploaded by RT. An editorial note below the video made no mention of the weapon, saying a frame in the video has caused "concern for personnel safety" because of a pilot's close-up. "Upon re-evaluation it was deemed that the frame did not pose any risks; it had since been restored and the video is up in its original cut," the RT statement said.{{cite web, url=https://citeam.org/russia-today-covering-up-war-crimes-in-syria/, title=Russia Today covering up war crimes in Syria {{! Conflict Intelligence Team, website=citeam.org, access-date=20 June 2016, archive-date=26 June 2016, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160626122641/https://citeam.org/russia-today-covering-up-war-crimes-in-syria/, url-status=dead By the end of 2018, Airwars, which monitors reports of casualties of all airstrikes, had documented 2,730–3,866 civilian deaths in Syria in some 39,000 Russian strikes, including 690–844 children and 2,017 named victims, although Russia officially confirmed none of these.{{cite web , title=Russian Military in Syria , website=Airwars , date=December 2018 , url=https://airwars.org/conflict/russian-military-in-syria/ , access-date=4 January 2019 Russia stated it had flown 39,000 ''sorties'' (not strikes) as of late 2018. The annual total for 2018 according to Airwars was 730 strikes killing 2,169 civilians.{{cite web , title=2019-Annual-Report-Web.pdf , website=airwars.org , url=https://airwars.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/2019-Annual-Report-Web.pdf In May 2019 United Nations officials said the Russian and Syrian governments intentionally bombed eight hospitals in Idlib whose GPS coordinates were passed to Russia as part of agreed "deconfliction mechanism" with hope to prevent "accidental bombing" which was previously used as an excuse by the governments. In August 2019, over 19 civilians were killed within two days after Russian forces carried out air-raids on a "displaced persons camp" near Hass village in southern Idlib. Also in August, the UN has opened an investigation into the bombing of hospitals. In October 2019, ''

'' published further evidence of coordinated attacks of Russian aviation against hospitals on the "deconfliction list", consisting of airplane sightings, intercepted radio conversations of pilots and air control exchanging GPS coordinates of specific hospitals which were bombed soon after. The Airwars report for 2019 recorded 710 claimed Russian casualty events in Syria – a 3% fall on 2018 – killing between 1,099 and 1,745 civilians. 81% of the events were in Idlib, 13% in Hama, and 5% in Aleppo. The strikes mainly occurred during the Idlib offensive of May to September, with the single worst incident being the July 22nd strikes in Ma'arrat al-Numan which killed up to 42 civilians. A ''New York Times'' investigation confirmed Russia's culpability in the latter. The investigation also detailed Russian attacks on the Martyr Akram Ali Ibrahim Al-Ahmad School in Qalaat al-Madiq on 28 April 2019.{{cite news , title=Hospitals and Schools Are Being Bombed in Syria. A U.N. Inquiry Is Limited. We Took a Deeper Look. , website=The New York Times , date=2020-01-01 , url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/12/31/world/middleeast/syria-united-nations-investigation.html , access-date=2020-08-04 A 2020 report by UN

Human Rights Council The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) is a United Nations body whose mission is to promote and protect human rights around the world. The Council has 47 members elected for staggered three-year terms on a regional group basis. The ...

for the first time directly laid responsibility on

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. By August 2022, Airwars estimated 4,308-6,386 civilians killed from Russian airstrikes since 2015, including 1,151-1,403 children, 627-760 women, and 3,192 named victims. The Russian military has denied that any of its strikes have caused any civilian casualties in Syria. Russian bombing has also injured 6,508-10,169 people.

Wagner Group involvement

{{See also, Wagner Group activities in Syria The presence of the

private military contractors (PMCs) in Syria was first reported in late October 2015, almost a month after the start of the Russian military intervention in the country's civil war, when between three and nine PMCs were killed in a rebel mortar attack on their position in Latakia province.{{cite web, last=Karouny, first=Mariam , url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-russia/three-russians-killed-in-syria-pro-government-source-idUSKCN0SE1YO20151020, title=Three Russians killed in Syria: pro-government source, date=20 October 2015, work=

, access-date=21 October 2015{{cite web, url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/up-to-nine-russian-contractors-die-in-syria-experts-say-1450467757, title=Up to Nine Russian Contractors Die in Syria, Experts Say, last=Grove, first=Thomas, date=18 December 2015, work=

, access-date=23 December 2015 It was reported that the Wagner Group was employed by the Russian Defense Ministry, even though private military companies are illegal in Russia.{{Cite news , date=22 March 2017 , title=More Russian Fighters from Private 'Wagner Group' Die in Syria , work=

The Moscow Times ''The Moscow Times'' (''MT'') is an Amsterdam-based independent English-language and Russian-language online newspaper. It was in print in Russia from 1992 until 2017 and was distributed free of charge at places frequented by English-speaking to ...

, url=https://themoscowtimes.com/news/more-undocumented-russian-fighters-from-private-wagner-group-die-in-syria-57499 , access-date=4 August 2017 The Russian Defense Ministry dismissed the early reports by ''

'' about the Wagner Group's operations in Syria as an " information attack". However, sources within the Russian FSB and the Defense Ministry unofficially stated for '' RBTH'' that Wagner was supervised by the GRU.{{cite news, url=https://www.rbth.com/economics/defence/2016/08/31/russias-wagner-group-fighters-sighted-in-syria_625551, title=Russia's Wagner group fighters sighted in Syria, date=31 August 2016, work=RBC, issue=9, access-date=18 September 2017, via=

Russia Beyond ''Russia Beyond'' (formerly ''Russia Beyond The Headlines'') is a Russian multilingual project operated by RT (formerly ''Russia Today'') parent ANO TV-Novosti, founded by the Russian state news agency RIA Novosti. History ''Russia Beyond T ...

Wagner PMCs were notably involved in both Palmyra offensives in

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

and

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

, as well as the

Syrian Army The Syrian Army is the land force branch of the Syrian Armed Forces. Up until the fall of the Assad regime, the Syrian Arab Army existed as a land force branch of the Syrian Arab Armed Forces, which dominanted the military service of the fo ...

's campaign in central Syria in the summer of 2017 and the Battle of Deir ez-Zor in late 2017.{{cite web, last=Korotkov, first=Denis, url=http://www.fontanka.ru/2016/03/28/171/, script-title=ru:Они сражались за Пальмиру, date=29 March 2016 , publisher=Fontanka.ru , access-date =18 September 2017, language=ru{{cite web, last=Leviev, first=Ruslan , url=https://citeam.org/they-fought-for-palmyra-again-russian-mercenaries-killed-in-battle-with-isis/, title=They fought for Palmyra... again: Russian mercenaries killed in battle with ISIS, publisher=Conflict Intelligence Team, date=22 March 2017, access-date=18 September 2017{{cite web, url=http://www.syriahr.com/en/?p=74026, title=After inflicting heavy losses on the regime forces, ISIS restore its stronghold in Hama and the regime desperate to retake Uqayribat, publisher=

, date=11 September 2017, access-date=18 September 2017{{cite web , title=The media reported the death of another soldier PMC Wagner in Syria , url=http://en.news-4-u.ru/the-media-reported-the-death-of-another-soldier-pmc-wagner-in-syria.html , url-status=dead , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210301053122/https://sexjk.com/ , archive-date=1 March 2021 , access-date=12 December 2017 , website=en.news-4-u.ru They were in the role of frontline advisors,

fire and movement Fire and movement, or fire and maneuver, is the basic modern military low-level unit Military tactics, tactic used to maneuver on the battlefield in the presence of the enemy, especially when under fire. It involves heavy use of all available c ...

coordinatorsOwen Matthews
PUTIN'S SECRET ARMIES WAGED WAR IN SYRIA—WHERE WILL THEY FIGHT NEXT?
''

'', 17 January 2018.

forward air control Forward air control is the provision of guidance to close air support (CAS) aircraft intended to ensure that their attack hits the intended target and does not injure friendly troops. This task is carried out by a forward air controller (FAC). ...

lers who provided guidance to

close air support Close air support (CAS) is defined as aerial warfare actions—often air-to-ground actions such as strafes or airstrikes—by military aircraft against hostile targets in close proximity to friendly forces. A form of fire support, CAS requires ...

and " shock troops" alongside the Syrian Army. Besides fighting ISIL militants, according to RBK TV, the PMCs trained a Syrian Army unit called the ISIS Hunters, which was also fully funded and trained by Russian special forces. {{Main, Battle of Khasham In early February 2018, the PMCs took part in a battle at the town of Khasham, in eastern Syria, which resulted in heavy casualties among Syrian government forces and the Wagner Group as they were engaged by United States

air An atmosphere () is a layer of gases that envelop an astronomical object, held in place by the gravity of the object. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A stellar atmosph ...

and

artillery Artillery consists of ranged weapons that launch Ammunition, munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, and l ...

strikes, due to which the incident was billed by media as "the first deadly clash between citizens of Russia and the United States since the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

".{{cite web , title=Syria condemns US air strike as massacre , publisher=BBC News , date=2018-02-08 , url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-42994235 , access-date=2018-02-08 , archive-date=2018-04-25 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180425234233/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-42994235 , url-status=live Russian mercenary boss spoke with Kremlin before attacking US forces in Syria, intel claims
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180227155221/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/02/23/russian-mercenary-boss-spoke-kremlin-attacking-us-forces-syria/, date=2018-02-27 ''The Telegraph'', 23 February 2018. Subsequently, the Wagner Group took part{{Cite web, url=http://www.iarex.ru/news/56760.html, title=ЧВК "Вагнер" не дала боевикам уничтожить мирное население Восточной Гуты – ИА REX in the Syrian military's Rif Dimashq offensive against the rebel-held Eastern Ghouta, east of Damascus. The whole Eastern Ghouta region was captured by government forces on 14 April 2018, effectively ending the near 7-year rebellion near Damascus. The PMCs also took part in the Syrian Army's offensive in northwestern Syria that took place mid-2019. As of late December 2021, Wagner PMCs were still taking part in military operations against ISIL cells in the Syrian desert.

Cooperation with Iran

{{See also, Iranian intervention in the Syrian civil war, Russia–Syria–Iran–Iraq coalition Iran continues to officially deny the presence of its combat troops in Syria, maintaining that it provides military advice to President Assad's forces in their fight against terrorist groups.{{cite news, url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/10/iranian-commanders-killed-syria-151013192529038.html, title=Two more Iranian commanders killed in Syria, publisher=Al Jazeera, access-date=15 October 2015, date=14 October 2015 It is stated that the Syrian Arab Army receives substantial support from the

; in June 2015, some reports suggested that the Iranian military were effectively in charge of the Syrian government troops on the battlefield. After the loss of

to a rebel offensive in the first half of 2015, the situation was judged to have become critical for Assad's survival. High level talks were held between Moscow and Tehran in the first half of 2015 and a political agreement was achieved; on 24 July, ten days after the signing of the nuclear agreement between Iran and the P5+1 countries, General

visited Moscow to devise the details of the plan for coordinated military action in Syria. In mid-September 2015, the first reports of new detachments from the Iranian Revolutionary Guards arriving in

and Latakia in western Syria were made in pro-Assad media: with much of the Syrian Arab Army and National Defence Force units deployed to more volatile fronts, Russian Marines and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) relieved their positions by installing military checkpoints inside the cities of Slunfeh (east Latakia Governorate), Masyaf (East Tartus Governorate) and

Ras al-Bassit Ras al-Bassit (), the classical Posidium or Posideium (, ''Posidḗion''), is a small town in Syria named for a nearby cape. It has been occupied since at least the late Bronze Age and was a fortified port under Greek and Roman rule. Herodotus—a ...

(Latakia coastal city). There were further reports of new Iranian contingents being deployed to Syria in early October 2015. After the start of the Russian operation, it was generally thought that Iran will be playing a leading role in the ground operations of Syria's army and allies, whilst Russia will be leading in the air in conjunction with the Syrian Arab Air Force, thereby establishing a complementary role.{{cite news, url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/khamenei-calls-for-stronger-iranian-military-to-deter-enemies/article26610890/ , title=Iranian troops join ground offensive in Syria , work=The Globe and Mail , url-status=dead , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151005173807/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/khamenei-calls-for-stronger-iranian-military-to-deter-enemies/article26610890/ , archive-date=5 October 2015 After the meeting between Vladimir Putin and

Ali Khamenei Ali Hosseini Khamenei (; born 19 April 1939) is an Iranian cleric and politician who has served as the second supreme leader of Iran since 1989. He previously served as the third President of Iran, president from 1981 to 1989. Khamenei's tenure ...

in Tehran on 23 November 2015, Iran was said to have made a decision to unify its stance vis-a-vis the Syrian leadership with Russia's.{{cite news, url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-russia-iran-idUSKBN0U12OM20151218 , title=Exclusive: Iran to match stance with Russia in push for Syria deal, work=Reuters, access-date=20 December 2015, date=18 December 2015 The use of Iran's Hamadan Airbase by Russian military aircraft that began in mid-August 2016 marked a new level of cooperation between the countries in their support for the Syrian government.

Anti-war sentiment

Russian authorities have made efforts to avoid a repeat of the humiliating experience of

Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan Pursuant to the Geneva Accords of 14 April 1988, the Soviet Union conducted a total military withdrawal from Democratic Republic of Afghanistan, Afghanistan between 15 May 1988 and 15 February 1989. Headed by the Soviet military officer Boris ...

. Casualty figures of Russian troops and PMCs have been either undercounted officially or undisclosed. Fearing the implications of a protracted war in Syria, Russian government had been keen to regularly issue declarations of victory, in order to provide the idea that the war was about to end. Despite continued stationing of Russian boots on the ground, Putin had twice declared "the withdrawal of Russian troops", in 2016 and 2017. With the military intervention being extended indefinitely as a protracted conflict, war weariness had been rising in the Russian society. A 2019 poll conducted by

Levada Center The Levada Center is a Russian independent, nongovernmental polling and sociological research organization. It is named after its founder, the first Russian professor of sociology Yuri Levada (1930–2006). The center traces back its history t ...

revealed that at least 55% of Russian citizens demanded the end of all military operations in Syria; up from 49% in 2017.

Reactions

{{For, further Russian comments on Syria and Russian initiatives since 30 September 2015 not part of this military operation, Russian involvement in the Syrian Civil War

Syria

{{flagu, Syria: * On 1 October 2015, the Syrian Ambassador to Russia, Riyad Haddad, stated that the Russian air force is acting in full coordination with the Syrian army. He added that Syria's position is that the Russian intervention is the only legitimate intervention under

international law International law, also known as public international law and the law of nations, is the set of Rule of law, rules, norms, Customary law, legal customs and standards that State (polity), states and other actors feel an obligation to, and generall ...

and called for other countries to join the "non-criminal" Russian intervention in Syria.

International

Supranational

– On 31 October 2015,

UN Secretary General The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or UNSECGEN) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the United Nations System#Six principal organs, six principal organs of ...

Ban Ki-moon Ban Ki-moon (born 13 June 1944) is a South Korean politician and diplomat who served as the eighth secretary-general of the United Nations between 2007 and 2016. Prior to his appointment as secretary-general, Ban was the South Korean minister ...

said in an interview with Spanish daily El Mundo "The future of Assad must be decided by the Syrian people," and "The Syrian government states that President Assad takes part (in any

transitional government A provisional government, also called an interim government, an emergency government, a transitional government or provisional leadership, is a temporary government formed to manage a period of transition, often following state collapse, revoluti ...

) but others, especially Western countries, say there is no place for him, but because of that we have lost three years, there have been more than 250,000 dead, more than 13 million displaced within Syria... more than 50 percent of hospitals, schools and infrastructure have been destroyed. There's no time to lose." In 2016, retired war crimes prosecutor Carla Del Ponte, who was researching rights abuses in Syria as part of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic, told an interviewer "I think the Russian intervention is a good thing, because finally someone is attacking these terrorist groups", but added that Russia is not distinguishing enough between terrorist and other groups. In 2017, she complained that Russia was using its

veto to prevent prosecution of war crimes in Syria, leading her to resign from her role in Syria. {{flagu, NATO – NATO has condemned Russian air strikes and urged Russia to stop supporting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. On 8 October 2015, they renewed assurances to defend the allies in view of the "escalation of Russian military activities."{{cite web, url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-34471849, title=Syria crisis: Nato renews pledge amid Russia 'escalation', date=8 October 2015, publisher=BBC, access-date=8 October 2015 U.S.-led coalition – On 1 October 2015, participants in the United States-led anti-ISIL coalition called on Russia to curtail its air campaign in Syria, saying the airstrikes had hit Syrian opposition groups and civilians. Such strikes would "only fuel more extremism", the statement issued by the United States, UK, Turkey and other coalition members declared. "We call on the Russian Federation to immediately cease its attacks on the Syrian opposition and civilians and to focus its efforts on fighting ISIL." 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. In 2017, the Inter-parliamentary Assembly of the

Community for Democracy and Rights of Nations The Community for Democracy and Rights of Nations, also commonly and colloquially known as the Commonwealth of Unrecognized States, rarely as CIS-2, is an international organization in Eastern Europe and the South Caucasus of three breakaway ...

, an international organization consisting of the only partially recognized republics

Abkhazia Abkhazia, officially the Republic of Abkhazia, is a List of states with limited recognition, partially recognised state in the South Caucasus, on the eastern coast of the Black Sea, at the intersection of Eastern Europe and West Asia. It cover ...

South Ossetia South Ossetia, officially the Republic of South Ossetia or the State of Alania, is a landlocked country in the South Caucasus with International recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, partial diplomatic recognition. It has an offici ...

and

Transnistria Transnistria, officially known as the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic and locally as Pridnestrovie, is a Landlocked country, landlocked Transnistria conflict#International recognition of Transnistria, breakaway state internationally recogn ...

, adopted a joint statement in which supported the policy of the Russian Federation in Syria.

National governments

{{flagu, Armenia provides support for the Russian operations in Syria by providing operational and logistical support.{{cite news, url=http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2015/12/resurgent-russia-takes-tenacious-turkey-151209071618920.html, title=Resurgent Russia takes on tenacious Turkey, publisher=

Al Jazeera Al Jazeera Media Network (AJMN; , ) is a private-media conglomerate headquartered in Wadi Al Sail, Doha, funded in part by the government of Qatar. The network's flagship channels include Al Jazeera Arabic and Al Jazeera English, which pro ...

, date=9 December 2015, access-date=24 December 2015Armen Grigoryan: ''Russia Expands Military Presence in Armenia, Deepens Confrontational Rhetoric'', Jamestown Foundation, Eurasia Daily Monitor, Volume: 12, Issue: 222, 11 December 2015. As a member of the CSTO, Armenia supports the Russian military intervention. {{flagu, Belarus, also a member of the CSTO, supports the Russian military intervention in Syria, said the country's acting foreign minister Vladimir Makei in October 2015.{{citation needed, date=November 2020 {{flagu, China has reacted positively to Russia's military intervention in Syria. The Chinese government perceives it as an element of the global fight against terrorism. China has no interest in getting involved militarily in Syria, but China's special envoy for the crisis in Syria praised Russia's military role in the war. In August 2016, Guan Youfei, director of the Office for International Military Cooperation of China's Central Military Commission, was in Damascus and said that "China and Syria's militaries have a traditionally friendly relationship, and China's military is willing to keep strengthening exchanges and cooperation with Syria's military". {{flagu, Egypt voiced support of the Russian air operation. On 3 October 2015, Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said the Russian entry into war in Syria was bound "to have an effect on limiting terrorism in Syria and eradicating it." {{flagu, Iraq supports the Russian intervention in Syria and has permitted Russia to fly over Iraq with its war planes.''

NRC Handelsblad ''NRC'', previously called ' (), is a daily morning newspaper published in the Netherlands by Mediahuis NRC. It is widely regarded as a newspaper of record in the country. History was first published on 1 October 1970 after a merger of the Amst ...

'', 22 October 2015. {{flagu, Israel – Shortly prior to the Russian intervention, the Israel Defense Forces and Russian military had set up a joint working group to coordinate their Syria-related activities in the aerial, naval, and electromagnetic arenas.{{cite web, url=http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Defense-sources-Russia-gave-Israel-advance-notice-of-its-airstrikes-in-Syria-419514, title=Russia gave Israel advance notice of its airstrikes in Syria, work=The Jerusalem Post – JPost.com, date=30 September 2015 The Israeli government was primarily concerned about ensuring that the potential alliance between

and Russia is not detrimental to its security. According to Zvi Magen, former ambassador to Moscow, "Israel made clear to him [Putin] that we have no real problem with Assad, just with Iran, Hezbollah and ISIS, and that message was understood." An Israeli military official stated that Israel would not shoot down any Russian aircraft which accidentally overflew Israeli territory because "Russia is not an enemy". {{flagu, Jordan – On 23 October 2015, Jordan agreed to set up a "special working mechanism" in Amman to coordinate military actions with Russia in Syria. Russian foreign minister,

called for continued expansion of the alliance, saying "We think that other states that participate in the anti- terrorist fight can join this mechanism as well." {{flag, Kyrgyzstan – Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev said that his country (also a member of the CSTO) supports the intervention. {{flag, Russia – Russia's

described the intervention as "eliminating terrorists in the Syrian Arab Republic" and awarded their medal "Participant of the military operation in Syria" to e.g. Tu-22M3 crews returning from bombing missions in Syria. {{flagu, Saudi Arabia – On 1 October 2015, Saudi Arabia's senior diplomat at the UN demanded that Russia cease its intervention, repeating statements made by Western diplomats that Russia was targeting the unnamed "moderate" anti-government opposition rather than ISIL. {{flagu, Turkey – President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, after a series of reported violations of the country's airspace by Russian military aircraft in early October 2015, warned that Russia's military operation in Syria could Russia-Turkey relations, jeopardise the bilateral ties between the countries. On 23 December, co-leader of Turkey's pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (Turkey), Peoples' Democratic Party Selahattin Demirtaş criticized Ankara's stance regarding a Russian jet shot down by Turkey in November 2015. {{flagu, United Arab Emirates – Initially, the UAE did not comment on the Russian intervention. Foreign Minister Anwar Mohammed Qarqash later expressed support for the intervention, saying they were against a "common enemy". {{flagu, 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". British troops will be sent to the Baltic states and Poland following Russia's intervention in Syria "to respond to any further provocation and aggression". {{flagu, United States – In early October 2015, President Barack Obama was reported to have authorised the resupply—against ISIL—of 25,000 Syrian Kurds and 5,000 of the armed-

, emphasising that the United States would continue this support now that Russia had joined the conflict.{{cite web, url=https://edition.cnn.com/2015/10/05/politics/russia-ground-campaign-syria-isis/, title=Obama authorizes resupply of Syrian opposition, date=5 October 2015, publisher=CNN, access-date=8 October 2015 :The U.S. ruled out military cooperation with Russia in Syria.{{cite news, url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-usa-cooperation-idUSKCN0S11EH20151007, title=As Russia escalates, U.S. rules out military cooperation in Syria , work=Reuters, date=7 October 2015, access-date=9 October 2015 Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter and other senior U.S. officials said Russia's campaign was primarily aimed at propping up Assad, whom Obama has repeatedly called upon to leave power.{{cite news, url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/01/world/europe/russia-airstrikes-syria.html, title=Russians Strike Targets in Syria, but Not ISIS Areas, date=30 September 2015, access-date=9 October 2015, work=The New York Times On 8 October 2015, he said, at a meeting of NATO defence ministers in Brussels, that Russia would soon start paying the price for its military intervention in Syria in the form of reprisal attacks and casualties. He added that he expected "in the next few days the Russians will begin to lose in Syria." He further said Russia's campaign was primarily aimed at propping up Assad. :On 9 October, the Obama administration abandoned its efforts to build up a new rebel force inside Syria to combat the Islamic State, acknowledging the failure of its $500 million campaign to train thousands of fighters and announcing that it will instead use the money to provide ammunition and some weapons for groups already engaged in the battle. :On 24 November, Obama said that Turkey "has a right to defend its territory and its airspace" after it 2015 Russian Sukhoi Su-24 shootdown, shot down a Russian bomber for reportedly violating Turkish airspace for 17 seconds, near the Syrian border. Obama also said "[Russians] are going after moderate opposition that are supported by not only Turkey but a wide range of countries." Syrian government forces supported by the Russian air force were fighting against an alliance that included the Turkish-backed Syrian Turkmen Brigades and al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate the

.{{cite news , url=http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2015/11/turkey-russia-syria-best-worse-case-scenarios-russian-jet.html , title=After shooting down Russian jet, what's next for Turkey? , work=Al-Monitor , date=26 November 2015 , access-date=1 January 2016 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151231181717/http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2015/11/turkey-russia-syria-best-worse-case-scenarios-russian-jet.html , archive-date=31 December 2015 , url-status=dead

Militias and religious agents

Representatives of the Kurds in Syria, Kurdish YPG and Democratic Union Party (Syria), PYD expressed their support for Russian air strikes against Islamic State, al-Nusra Front and Ahrar al-Sham. Russia's Sputnik News cited YPG commander Sipan Hamo, Sipan Hemo urging for Russian help in weaponry and for the cooperation with Russia in the War against the Islamic State, War against Islamic State.PYD leader: Russia will stop Turkey from intervening in Syria
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151010034506/http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2015/10/turkey-syria-russia-pyd-leader-muslim-moscow-prevent-ankara.html , date=10 October 2015 ". Al-Monitor. 1 October 2015. Shortly after the Russian air strikes started, Salih Muslim, co-chair of the PYD, has said in an interview that "America will object because [Jabhat] al-Nusra and Ahrar al-Sham are no different than Daesh. They are all terrorist organizations and share the same radical mentality." At the same time Salih Muslim opposed Russian support to the Ba'athist regime, stating:

"as far as Bashar al-Assad, Assad remaining in power, we think differently. Assad cannot remain in power as before. He may stay on during a transition period, during a period of dialogue between the conflicting parties, but in the long term it seems inconceivable that the majority of the Syrian people would accept his leadership anymore."

On 30 September,

spokesman Vsevolod Chaplin, said the fight against terrorism was a "moral fight, a holy fight if you will". According to ''The Washington Post'', "Russian Muslims are split regarding the intervention in Syria, but more are pro- than anti-war." Numerous politicians, journalists, religious leaders, intellectuals and human rights activists across the Arab world, Arab World have condemned Russian Orthodox Church's framing of Putin's military intervention as a "

", drawing parallels with medieval Crusades. Attacking the ROC leadership, writer Saad al-Din stated: "The Orthodox Church supports Putin's crimes and massacres in Syria and considers it a holy war... it is not a church that considers fighting the children of Syria a

, but rather a moral and political brothel."{{Cite news , date=7 October 2015 , title=الكنيسة الروسية و"الحرب الصليبية".. أين صلاح الدين؟ , trans-title=The Russian Church and the "Crusader War"... Where is Saladin? , work=Al Jazeera , url=https://www.aljazeera.net/news/2015/10/7/%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%83%D9%86%D9%8A%D8%B3%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B1%D9%88%D8%B3%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D9%88-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AD%D8%B1%D8%A8-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B5%D9%84%D9%8A%D8%A8%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%A3%D9%8A%D9%86 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230625223923/https://www.aljazeera.net/news/2015/10/7/%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%83%D9%86%D9%8A%D8%B3%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B1%D9%88%D8%B3%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D9%88-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AD%D8%B1%D8%A8-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B5%D9%84%D9%8A%D8%A8%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%A3%D9%8A%D9%86 , archive-date=25 June 2023 Qaradawi wih free Syria flag

The

's "Homs Liberation Movement" threatened Suicide attack, suicide bombings against Russian forces in Syria. Syrian Turkmen Brigades, a Turkmen opposition militia allied with the Free Syrian Army stated that Russian Air Force, Russian air forces conducted simultaneous air strikes against Syrian Turkmen, Turkmen villages and positions in the Turkmen Mountain area. More than 40 civilian casualties were reported in one incident. Over 40 anti-government groups, including factions such as Ahrar al-Sham,

and the Levant Front, were reported, on 5 October, to have vowed to attack Russian forces in retaliation for Moscow's air campaign. Syrian Islamist fighters denounced Russian Orthodox Church's declaration of "holy war" as evidence for Russia waging a "War on Islam controversy, war on Islam" in vengeance for past Soviet–Afghan War, wars in Afghanistan and First Chechen War, Chechnya. Influential cleric Yusuf al-Qaradawi, chairman of International Union of Muslim Scholars, 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. Who blessed Russia for the bombing of Syria? Was it blessed by God, Christ, or the texts of the Bible? This is a cursed and reprehensible war in the name of religions, laws, morals, and covenants."

{{quote box, A few days ago, the Russian Duma declared that Russia would remain permanently in Syria, and that the Russian bases in Syria are there to stay. The Russians will not return to their country. I'd like to remind you that when the Russians first entered Syria, I called it an invasion. This is a Crusades, Crusader invasion of our countries. All the Muslims must confront this invasion, and drive the invaders - Russians or others - out of their countries. Some people say: "The Russians are here to help us." Oh, no. They are not here to serve you. You are the servant, not they. I repeat: The Muslims must drive out the invaders, and especially the Russians, Russian invaders. Let no one deceive you. This is not a Sunni-Shiite war. It is not a war between Muslims. This is a war against Islam, war against Muslims - Sunnis and Shiites alike... This is not a sectarian war. It is a Western war. , source = — Lebanese Shi'ite cleric Subhi al-Tufayli , align = right , width = 25em Fifty-five Saudi religious scholars signed a statement against the Russian intervention, first addressing the Russians as "Oh Russians, oh extremist people of the Cross", reminding them of the Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan, Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and addressing Orthodox Russia as the heir of the Soviet Communists, stating they were "supporting the Nusayri regime" and invading "Muslim Syria", stating the leaders of the

were waging an anti-Muslim "Crusades, Crusade" and telling them they will meet the Collapse of the soviet union, fate of the Soviet Union and suffer "a shameful defeat in the Levant". The statement also addressed "Our people in the Levant", telling the able-bodied and those who are able to contribute to join the "Jihad" instead of emigrating. The statement also called for all factions against the government in Syria to unite. Further, addressing "Arab and Muslim countries", telling them that there is a "real war against Sunnis and their countries and identity" at the hands of the "Western-Russian and Safavid and Nusayri alliance", calling for the termination of all relations with Iran and Russia with Muslim countries and to "protect the land and people of the Levant from the influence of the Persians and Russians", especially calling upon Qatar, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia to support the Levant. In addition to Sunni scholars, major Shi'i clerics have also sharply denounced the Russian intervention in Syria; labelling it as a Crusader invasion. Influential Lebanese Shi'ite cleric Subhi al-Tufayli, estranged founder and first Secretary-General of Hezbollah during 1980s, urged Muslims to resist Russian invaders the same way the Palestinian resistance, Palestinians defend themselves from Israeli-occupied territories, Zionist occupation. He also vehemently denounced Hezbollah for aiding the Russian expansionist agenda, which also threatened Lebanon. The Muslim Brotherhood of Syria issued a statement declaring Jihad against Russia obligatory (Fard 'ayn) upon all who are able to carry weapons.{{cite web, url=http://www.dw.com/en/syrian-rebel-groups-call-for-unity-attacks-on-russia/a-18762524, title=Syrian rebel groups call for unity, attacks on Russia, publisher=Deutsche Welle, date=5 October 2015 They cited the Russian Orthodox Church's call of the operation as a Holy War. Photos of Uyghurs, Uyghur fighters of the

were released with captions in Arabic that said "standing up strongly to the Nusayri army and the Russians." (المجاهدين التركستانيين يتصدى بقوة للجيش النصيري ومن قبل الروس). Emblem of the Jaish al-Fatah

's now-defunct Syrian affiliate

once declared a reward for the seizure of Russian soldiers of Syrian pound, LS 2,500,000 (approximately US$13,000) in 2015. Abu Ubaid Al-Madani, who speaks Russian, released a video addressed to the Russians warning that they would massacre Russian soldiers. Ahmed al-Sharaa described the Russian intervention as an imperialist Crusades, Crusade and incited retaliatory attacks against Russian civilians by Muslims in post-Soviet states in response to Russian bombing of Syrian civilians. He also called for bringing the battle to Alawites, Alawite villages in coastal Syria in response to the extensive targeting of Sunni Islam, Sunni Muslims by the Alawite-dominated Ba'athist regime with Russian support. The Syria-based, AQ-linked Saudi cleric Abdallah Muhammad Al-Muhaysini threatened that Syria would be a "tomb for its invaders" or "graveyard for invaders" in response to the Russian intervention and brought up the Soviet–Afghan War. Muhaysini had foreign fighters of multiple backgrounds repeated the phrase "The Levant is the graveyard of the Russians", in a video message. The

declared Jihad upon the Russians in a recorded vocal communiqué by Abu Mohammed al-Adnani.{{cite news, url=http://www.rferl.org/content/islamic-state-nusra-jihad-russia/27306477.html, title=Islamic State, Al-Nusra Front Call For 'Jihad' Against Russia, work=RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty, date=14 October 2015 , access-date=21 October 2015, last1=Paraszczuk , first1=Joanna On 12 November, ISIL published via its media branch, al-Hayat Media Center a music video in which they threatened that they would attack Russia very soon and "blood would spill like an ocean".

Notes

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References

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External links

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