The Russian military on April 20 said that its airstrike killed about 200 militants and destroyed 24 vehicles in eastern Syria. According to the Associated Press, Rear Admiral Alexander Karpov, who is the head of the Russian military’s Reconciliation Center in Syria, said that the Russian warplanes hit two militant hideouts northeast of Palmyra and destroyed 500 kilograms of ammunition and explosives. He also added that the militants’ base had served as a staging ground for terror attacks across Syria.

Russia's military intervention in Syria

Back in September 2015, the Russian Federation formally had entered the Syrian civil war as President Bashar al-Assad’s rule was increasingly under threat. Since then, Russia has waged a military campaign and has been helping al-Assad’s government retake control over most of the country after a devastating 10-year conflict. Russia’s intervention stopped the advance of the opposition, which was backed by the West, Turkey and the Gulf, and effectively preserved the Baathist regime in Damascus.

Why Russia conducts airstrike?

Some experts have attributed the Russian decision to intervene formally in Syria to a 2015 visit to Moscow by General Qassem Soleimani, the late commander of the Quds Force of the IRGC, who was assassinated by the US in Baghdad in 2019. The Iranian general reportedly convinced Russian President Vladimir Putin to send Russian troops to save the Syrian government. However, the Kremlin did not need any convincing as the fall of al-Assad would have threatened Russia’s interests and eliminated another regional ally. 

It is also reasonable to assume that the Kremlin feared that, after defeating al-Assad and coming to power, international jihadist groups like Islamic State and al-Qaeda, which both had followers in Russia’s North Caucasus, would target Russia and attempt to start wars of secession in Muslim-majority provinces of Russia. This fear may have presented the immediate impetus to intervene. The collapse of the al-Assad regime would lead to the loss of a trade partner and long-time buyer of Russian arms and machinery as well. 

Moreover, tense relations with the West had also motivated Moscow to put troops on the ground in Syria. Additionally, the rise of ISIL provided an opportunity to wrap the intervention in anti-terror rhetoric, ensuring domestic support, while the United States’ reluctance to get involved more heavily in the Syrian conflict - to avoid an “Iraq repeat” - reassured Moscow that there would be no direct clash with the US.

Impact of the Russian intervention 

Now, nearly six years after Russia conducted daily operations expanded permanent bases in Syria and regularly conducted airstrikes, al-Assad’s position has greatly improved. Most of the threats posed to Russia by the potential collapse of al-Assad’s regime have also been mitigated. IS no longer controls significant amounts of territory, although it reportedly holds enough land to continue a coordinated military campaign. However, Russia still maintains a firm presence in Syria with about 4,000 soldiers, 20-40 airplanes, a similar number of helicopters and fleet facilities for 11 naval vessels. 

(Image credits: The Associated Press)