September 30, 2017 marks two years since Moscow responded to Damascus’ request to help in the fight against terrorism and began a military operation in Syria. What has been done for peace in Syria?
According to the latest data from the Russian Ministry of Defense, over the past two years in Syria, 87% of the entire territory has been liberated from IS 1 militants (a terrorist organization banned in the Russian Federation). A huge amount of credit goes to this. Russian aircraft carried out more than 30 thousand combat sorties and carried out about 100 thousand surgical strikes against targets (including international terrorist infrastructure facilities) that had been identified in advance. The operations were carried out by attack aircraft and front-line bombers, flying daily from the Khmeimim airbase, as well as by strategic aircraft.
One of NATO's analytical reports compared the effectiveness of Russian aviation and the air force of the Western coalition. And the analysts' conclusions were far from being in favor of the latter. Thus, 40 Russian fighters stationed in Syrian Latakia carried out up to 75 sorties per day, each time delivering “precise and effective strikes” against IS positions. And, having a total of 180 combat aircraft, they destroyed only 20 targets every day and often returned to base with unused ammunition. It turns out that with a small number of people, the efficiency of the Russian Aerospace Forces was four times higher!
Thanks to efficient work Almost 54 thousand extremists were destroyed by aviation: for two years the militants stood on the outskirts of the capital of the Syrian state, hatching plans to seize it, and today almost 90% of the country’s territory has been liberated from terrorists.
In addition to the areas where Islamists were deployed, the pilots’ targets were command posts and training camps, ammunition depots and clandestine factories, as well as other facilities that were sources of income for the radicals.
We are talking about oil fields, pipelines and fuel pumping stations located in provinces rich in natural resources, over which the Islamists have firmly held control for several years. Only for the first year military operation Russia's air strikes in Syria destroyed 184 oil refineries and about 10,000 other facilities, including fuel tanker convoys. The damage caused to the militants’ infrastructure was so significant that it practically “bleded” the international terrorist organization, cutting off the main financial arteries.
The Russian Aerospace Forces provided crucial when carrying out operations to liberate cities of strategic importance - these are Aleppo and Palmyra. During the liberation of Aleppo, the lives of 100 thousand civilians were saved, which is a merit of the Russian Aerospace Forces aviation, which showed coherence of action.
During active hostilities in the Palmyra area, the Russian Aerospace Forces carried out a unique operation to liberate the city of El-Qaryatein, to which the militants fervently clung. For them, this city was of great importance because it was located on a highway that passed through the desert. The radicals tried to transfer reinforcements from Raqqa to El-Qaryatein about 30 (!) times, but each time the radical detachments were identified and destroyed by the Russian Aerospace Forces on the approach to the city.
In the course of military operations and with active air support from Russian aviation, control over a section of the Syrian-Iraqi border in southern Syria (length of more than 180 kilometers), as well as the Syrian-Jordanian border in the provinces of Es-Suwayda and Damascus (length of 195 kilometers) has now been restored ).
Another powerful psychological effect of the actions of the Russian Aerospace Forces in Syria was the almost complete cessation of mass acts of intimidation by ISIS terrorists, expressed in barbaric executions and other crimes. This was achieved thanks to several air retaliation operations, which again convinced ISIS of the accuracy and effectiveness of the Russian Aerospace Forces.
But the main result of Russia’s two-year military operation in Syria was a gradual turn towards a peaceful direction in the country, tired of many years of civil war. Russia's active support allowed Syria to establish a calm life in Damascus. The reconstruction of Aleppo is in full swing - more than 140 thousand civilians have already returned here and are establishing the work of enterprises. Thanks to the professional actions of the Russian Aerospace Forces, it was possible to preserve at least part of the monuments in Palmyra and break through the long-term blockade around Deir ez-Zor. After the terrorists were driven out of the gas and oil fields of the provinces rich in these minerals, the opportunity of Syria arose. Air support, which was carried out from the Khmeimim airbase for two years, led to a radical change in the situation in the country, which until recently stood on the threshold of physical survival.
According to military experts, success in Syria is the result of the competent leadership of Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, the use of the right tactics in the fight against terrorism, as well as the coordinated work of the Russian Aerospace Forces. As a result, Syria received a real chance to preserve state power in the country.
1 The organization is prohibited on the territory of the Russian Federation.
Illustration copyright AFP
Da year ago Russia officially enteredVSyrianth war - 14 months after the United States did it.
On September 30, 2015, the Aerospace Forces (VKS) carried out their first airstrikes on Syrian territory. Since then, they have flown more than 30,000 sorties and carried out more than 90,000 airstrikes (data released by the Russian Ministry of Defense on September 21).
In two years, according to official information, almost 40 Russian servicemen were killed. The media also reported on the deaths of Russians who took part in hostilities outside the Ministry of Defense.
By the time of the Russian intervention in Syria, a civil war had already been going on for five years between the army and other forces supporting President Bashar al-Assad, rebels opposed to him and Islamists, including militants of the Islamic State (IS, ISIS) banned in Russia.
The BBC Russian service has summed up the interim results of the Russian campaign.
Why is Russia involved in the Syrian civil war?
The main objectives of Russia’s military actions are “to stabilize the legitimate government and create conditions for finding a political compromise” in Syria, Vladimir Putin said in October 2015. Under "legitimate authority" Russian President meant the Assad regime.
Moscow also seeks to destroy the Islamic State and the Jabhat al-Nusra group (banned in Russia, both organizations appear on the UN sanctions list) and other associations that it considers terrorist.
Illustration copyright Tass Image caption Russia (Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu - left) is one of the few allies of the Bashar al-Assad regime (right)
Sometimes these tasks conflict with each other. “The very first clumsy and brutal military operation was not aimed at ISIS, but against the Free Syrian Army, which posed a direct threat to the regime,” noted New York University professor and expert on Russian security issues Mark Galeotti in October 2015.
There is a widespread view among analysts that the true purpose of Russia’s intervention in the conflict is the desire to increase its weight in the international arena and use the Syrian issue in bargaining with other world powers.
By 2015, the active phase of the war in Donbass, which was the main foreign policy plot of the previous year for Russians, ended.
“He [Putin] needed a diversionary maneuver to hide the failure of the war in eastern Ukraine,” argued Swedish economist and diplomat and Russia expert Anders Aslund.
By what forces is Russia participating in the war?
Airstrikes military aviation, the presence of military advisers, military police, special forces.
In addition, the navy is used, including for missile strikes.
The media also reported that mercenaries from private military companies from Russia were taking part in the fighting. This has never been officially confirmed.
What has changed in Syria in two years?
Government troops have significantly expanded the area of their control over the country. Among other things, Assad and his military allies (including Iran and Lebanon) regained control of the country's largest city, Aleppo, in December 2016.
At the same time, the borders of the Islamic State have shrunk. Among other things, IS lost a number of oil fields: oil smuggling served as one of the group’s important sources of financing.
Click Two years of Russia in Syria
September 2017
September 30, 2015
How much of this is due to Russia?
Although Assad's troops have noticeably expanded their zone of influence since Moscow's intervention, the question remains who made the main contribution to the successful fight against the Islamic State.
The American research center RAND Corporation considers the taming of the Islamic State a merit of the United States, which entered the war in early August 2014, and “to a lesser extent” of Russia, the Lebanese Hezbollah movement and Iran.
Who is fighting on the side of Russia, and who is against?
Moscow's clear enemies in the war are ISIS and grouping "Hey'at Tahrir al-Sham"(represents a union "Jabhat al-Nusrs" and dozens of other similar groups).
Government troops can be called allies of Russia Syria, Iran and the Lebanese group Hezbollah.
Moscow has difficult relations with other parties. At the very beginning of the operation, Russia was criticized for attacks on representatives of the anti-Assad Free Syrian Army (FSA), which they openly support USA in its fight against the Assad regime and the Islamic State.
"Stroytransgaz" Gennady Timchenko, a businessman from President Putin’s inner circle, started a business in Syria before the start of the war.
In 2007, Stroytransgaz completed the construction of the Arab gas pipeline from the Jordanian-Syrian border to a gas station in the Homs area under a contract with the Syrian Gas Company. The company also built a gas processing plant in Syria near Homs. Construction of another gas plant near Raqqa continues.
In April 2017, Stroytransgaz received a contract to restore phosphate deposits near Palmyra. Damascus is also ready to offer Stroytransgaz contracts for the restoration of Palmyra destroyed during the fighting, said Senator Dmitry Sablin during a visit to Syria in April 2016.
Simply patriotic Russian businessmen also tried to find their own business benefits in war-torn Syria. Owner of a shoe manufacturer and retailer Zenden(second in terms of turnover in the Russian Federation) Andrey Pavlov decided to start producing shoes in Syria in the fall of 2016.
Before this, some of the shoes for the brand were made in Turkey. After the armed forces of this country shot down a Russian plane, the businessman decided to curtail his production there. In addition, it was cheaper to make shoes in Syria.
As a result, Zenden shoes are produced in a factory in Latakia, near a Russian military base. And in the Russian stores of the chain, special shelves with a sign “Made in Syria” appeared.
By now, Pavlov has “given up” with shoe production in Syria, the businessman himself told the BBC Russian Service. “We might collaborate during the season,” he added, noting that the factory only produced summer shoes.
The Russian Ministry of Defense was unable to promptly respond to requests for information regarding this material sent by the BBC Russian Service.
TASS DOSSIER. Two years ago, on September 30, 2015, the operation of the Armed Forces began Russian Federation against the terrorist organizations "Islamic State" (IS) and Jabhat al-Nusra (since 2016 called Jabhat Fatah al-Sham) banned in the Russian Federation in the Syrian Arab Republic.
Legal basis for the operation
On September 30, 2015, the Federation Council of the Russian Federation unanimously approved the request of Russian President Vladimir Putin to use the country's armed forces outside its territory. This decision allowed the start of an operation in Syria on the same day at the request of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
The situation in Syria at the start of the operation
By the end of the summer of 2015, various terrorist groups controlled about 70% of the territory of Syria, IS militants captured Raqqa, Palmyra, Manbij, and a number of other strategically important settlements, transport communications, oil and gas fields. Government forces could not independently cope with the offensive of the militants, and air strikes by the US-led international coalition against the Islamic State also did not have the desired effect on the terrorist groups.
In this situation, the Syrian authorities turned to Russia with a request for help. On August 26, 2015, an interstate agreement was signed on the deployment of Russian aviation in Syria.
Formation of a strike group of the Russian Aerospace Forces
In September 2015, a separate aviation group of the Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS) was transferred to the Khmeimim airfield (Lattakia province, northwestern Syria). It included Su-24M bombers, Su-25 attack aircraft, Su-30SM fighters, Mi-24 and Mi-8 helicopters, Il-20M1 reconnaissance aircraft, as well as unmanned aircraft systems. The group was formed from crews of combat units of the Russian Aerospace Forces.
In addition, ground personnel, paratroopers and marines to guard the airbase, Special Operations Forces soldiers, armored vehicles, and Buk-M2 and Pantsir-S air defense systems were delivered to the Khmeimim base. To supply the group, the transfer of equipment, ammunition, spare parts, and personnel was organized by military transport aircraft, as well as landing and transport ships of the Russian Navy (“Syrian Express” from Russia to the 720th logistics support point of the Russian Navy in port of Tartus).
Progress of hostilities
On September 30, 2015, immediately after the decision of the Federation Council, Russian pilots carried out the first airstrikes against IS targets in the provinces of Homs and Hama. On October 6-7, the fleet joined the operation: ships of the Caspian flotilla from the Caspian Sea attacked IS targets with sea-based cruise missiles "Caliber" (they were used for the first time in combat operations, subsequently they were used eight more times, in total there were more than 70 missiles were fired).
During the first month of the operation, 1 thousand 391 combat missions were carried out and 1 thousand 623 terrorist objects were destroyed, including 249 various control points and communication centers and 51 training camps. Aircraft of the Russian Aerospace Forces performed on average 50-60 sorties daily.
On November 17, 2015, when the version was confirmed that the cause of the crash of the Russian Airbus A321 aircraft in Egypt was a terrorist attack, Putin ordered to “strengthen the combat work of aviation.” Immediately after this, the number of combat sorties increased to 90-100 per day. Aircraft were involved long-range aviation Tu-160, Tu-95 (which was the first combat use of these bombers in history) and Tu-22M3.
The situation in Syria became even more tense after the Turkish Air Force shot down a Russian Su-24M bomber on November 24, 2015, which caused a sharp reaction from Russia. To provide air defense for the group, the missile cruiser Moskva was sent to the shores of Syria, and the S-400 Triumph anti-aircraft missile system was deployed to Khmeimim. The air group was reinforced with Su-30SM and Su-35S fighters, Su-34 bombers, and attack helicopters.
On January 22, 2016, a new intensification of the actions of the Russian Aerospace Forces was announced; in January-February, more than 500 sorties were carried out every week, and a record 1.8 thousand targets were hit on February 4-11 alone.
On February 27, 2016, a ceasefire reached through the mediation of the Russian Federation and the United States came into force in Syria. Some of the armed groups operating in Syria joined him. On March 14, 2016, Putin ordered the withdrawal of the main part of the Russian military group from Syria. After this, the air group was reduced from 69 to 25 units. In the spring and summer of 2016, the Aerospace Forces continued to carry out airstrikes against terrorists, supporting the offensive of the Syrian army in the provinces of Aleppo, Latakia and Deir ez-Zor.
On March 27, 2016, Syrian government troops established control over Palmyra, but on December 11, 2016, as a result of an assault by IS militants, they were forced to leave the city. Palmyra was liberated from militants for the second time on March 2, 2017.
On December 15, 2016, Assad announced the liberation of the largest Syrian city of Aleppo, battles for which had continued since July 2012.
In November 2016 - January 2017, the air group of the only aircraft carrier of the Russian Navy, the Northern Fleet heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Kuznetsov, took part in hostilities, which made a long voyage to the Mediterranean Sea. Carrier-based aviation pilots carried out 420 combat missions, including 117 at night, and hit 1,252 terrorist targets.
Since 2016, infrastructure Russian troops in Syria, they are guarded by military police of the Russian Armed Forces, equipped with light weapons. They also patrol territories liberated from terrorists, de-escalation zones, and escort humanitarian cargo.
In 2017, Syrian authorities restored control over long sections of the Syrian-Iraqi and Syrian-Jordanian borders. On September 5, 2017, Syrian troops managed to break the blockade of the city of Deir ez-Zor, which had been surrounded by territories controlled by IS for more than three years.
Losses
According to official publications of the Russian Ministry of Defense and representatives of Russian regional authorities, 36 Russian servicemen were killed during combat missions in Syria. Four of them were posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Russian Federation (Lieutenant Colonel Oleg Peshkov, Senior Lieutenant Alexander Prokhorenko, Captain Marat Akhmetshin, Colonel Ryafagat Khabibullin).
The most senior Russian military officer killed in Syria is Lieutenant General Valery Asapov, a senior group of Russian military advisers who was fatally wounded when a command post was hit by a mortar shell in September 2017. In addition, one was recorded non-combat loss(a contract soldier committed suicide).
During the operation, the Russian Aerospace Forces lost four helicopters and one aircraft:
- On November 24, 2015, a Su-24M was shot down by a Turkish fighter. On the same day, the militants managed to knock out and then destroy with mortar fire a Mi-8AMTSh helicopter, which was part of the search and rescue group.
- On April 12, 2016, a Mi-28N helicopter crashed near the city of Homs due to a pilot error.
- On August 1, 2016, a Mi-8AMTSh helicopter was destroyed in Idlib province as a result of shelling from the ground.
- On November 3, 2016, a helicopter (presumably a Mi-35M) was destroyed by enemy fire in the province of Hama.
As a result of the accidents, two carrier-based fighters from the Admiral Kuznetsov were also lost - the MiG-29K (November 14, 2016) and the Su-33 (December 5, 2016).
Command
Commanders of the group of Russian troops in Syria:
- Colonel General Alexander Dvornikov (September 2015 - June 2016);
- Lieutenant General Alexander Zhuravlev (July - December 2016);
- Colonel General Andrey Kartapolov (December 2016 - March 2017);
- Colonel General Sergei Surovikin (since March 2017).
The commander of the Russian air group in Syria is Major General Alexey Maksimtsev (since September 2015).
Results of the operation
Russia's participation allowed the Syrian military to seize the initiative in the fighting and significantly weaken the terrorist forces. On August 25, 2017, at the international military-technical forum "Army-2017" in the Moscow region, the head of the Main Operations Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, Colonel General Sergei Rudskoy, announced that since the beginning of the military operation, the Aerospace Forces aviation had carried out more than 28 thousand combat sorties, inflicting about 90 thousand .airstrikes.
During the operation, the territory controlled by government forces grew from 19 thousand to 78 thousand square meters. km. Large gangs were defeated in the Hama and Homs regions, and the province of Latakia was completely cleared of terrorists. The oil and gas fields of Jizel, Shaer, Hayan, Magara and Arak have been returned to government control.
On September 12, 2017, the chief of staff of the Russian Armed Forces in Syria, Lieutenant General Alexander Lapin, told reporters that Syrian government troops had liberated about 85% of the country from IS militants, and to completely clear Syria of IS terrorists, “about 27,800 remained to be liberated.” sq. km.
As of the end of September 2017, the main efforts of government troops and the Russian Armed Forces group are focused on defeating the enemy in the Deir ez-Zor area, where the most capable IS terrorist units moved from Raqqa and Iraqi Mosul.
Political settlement process
The successes of government troops, achieved with the support of the Russian Armed Forces, made it possible to launch the process of political settlement and reconciliation of the warring parties. Since December 30, 2016, as a result of agreements between the armed opposition and the Syrian government (the Russian Federation and Türkiye acted as mediators), a ceasefire regime has been in force in Syria.
In May 2017, in Astana (Kazakhstan), the Russian Federation, Iran and Turkey signed a memorandum (entered into force on May 6, 2017) on the creation of security zones in Syria. As of September 2017, there are four de-escalation zones in operation - in the southwest (in the provinces of Daraa, Quneitra and Es-Suwayda), in the northwest of the country (Idlib province), in the Damascus suburb of Eastern Ghouta and north of Homs; as well as the Tel Rifiyat deconfliction zone in the north of Aleppo province.
Safe areas have been created along the de-escalation zones to prevent direct military confrontation.
Status of Russian military bases in Syria
In January 2017, a protocol was signed between the Russian Federation and Syria on the agreement on the deployment of an aviation group of the Russian Armed Forces on Syrian territory. The protocol states that external security of the Russian military deployment sites and the coastal borders of the logistics support point in the port of Tartus is carried out by the forces of the Syrian side, and air defense, internal security and maintaining law and order in the deployment sites are the responsibility of the Russian side.
The protocol establishes the international legal framework governing the conditions for the presence of the aviation group of the Russian Armed Forces in Syria, which “allows it to carry out its activities in full.” The agreement and protocol are valid for 49 years from the date of signing, with the possibility of subsequent extension for 25-year periods. The annual costs of implementing the protocol amount to about 20 million rubles at the expense of funds from the Russian Ministry of Defense provided for in the federal budget of the Russian Federation.
Photo: Mikhail Klimentyev/RIA Novosti
American editionNewYorker, citing its sources among American and European politicians, reported that the US administration is readyagree to stay Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in power in the country until the next presidential elections scheduled for 2021 . This information appeared the day after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the end of the military operation in Syria.
The situation in Syria at the beginning of the operation
September 30, 2015 The Federation Council gave Russian President Vladimir Putin consent to the use of the Russian Armed Forces on the territory of the Syrian Arab Republic. By this time August 26, 2015 An agreement was concluded between Russia and Syria on the deployment of an aviation group of the Russian Armed Forces on Syrian territory, according to which the air group was to be based on Khmeimim airfield indefinitely and free of charge.
By the fall of 2015, the position of the Assad regime and the forces supporting it was critical. Civil war in the country, which began with political unrest March 2011 within the framework of the "Arab Spring", to mid 2012 is in full swing. At this time, the first armed Islamist groups appeared on Syrian territory: first "Jabhat al-Nusra " , then "Islamic State"(both banned in the Russian Federation), with which Jabhat formally merged into April 2013. In September 2015 less than one third of the country's territory remained under the control of government troops and pro-government armed groups.
Progress of the operation
Initially, it was planned that the military operation would be limited to strikes by the Russian Aerospace Forces against militant targets and air support for the actions of government forces. But the logic of the development of events required the Russian Armed Forces to use representatives of almost all branches of the military in Syria. From Marines guarding military bases to special operations forces helping the Syrian army conduct ground combat operations.
In two years, according to various estimates, the Russian Aerospace Forces carried out about 30,000 combat missions and applied 90,000 beats against ground targets.
With the support of the Russian Armed Forces, the Syrian army was able to recapture about 1000 settlements, Vincluding keystrategic point of view Palmyra and Aleppo. On at the moment the so-called Islamic State (banned in Russian Federation terrorist organization) controls only 5% of Syrian territory.
During this time, according to official data, Russia lost people killed in Syria 37 people. Western sources consider this figure to be underestimated by approximately half. But in the West, it also includes employees of private military companies (PMCs) fighting in Syria.
Official data on the cost of the operation are classified. According to various sources, it can be about 2.5 – 3 billion US dollars(according to RBC estimates, Russia spent about $2.5 million per day on the operation in 2015). The Yabloko party, which has studied this issue, demands that the cost of what was lost during the operation be added to these expenses. military equipment and payments to the families of dead and wounded military personnel.
Some results of the operation
The country's political and military leadership has repeatedly emphasized that a military operation will help defeat the main forces of Islamic terrorists and thereby reduce the terrorist threat to the Russian Federation itself.In February 2017 President of Russia Vladimir Putin reported, citing data from the country's intelligence services, that in Syria they are fighting on the side of the militants up to 4 thousand Russian citizens and about 5 thousand citizens of the former USSR .
During the military operation, Russia managed to create a political alliance with the participation of Iran and Turkey, which took upon itself the task of resolving the conflict in Syria. This should increase Russia's weight in the Middle East region.
During the operation, the Russian Armed Forces tested about 600 samples military equipment. This included the first use of sea-launched Kalibr cruise missiles and air-launched Kh-101 cruise missiles. There are estimates that contracts for the supply of Russian military equipment, which has successfully proven itself in Syria, could grow by several billion dollars in the coming years.
An armed conflict has been ongoing in Syria since March 2011. Government troops are opposed by militant groups belonging to various armed groups. The most active militants are the extremist groups "Islamic State" (IS, Daesh, banned in the Russian Federation) and "Jabhat al-Nusra" (the Syrian division of al-Qaeda, changed its name to).
The international coalition led by the United States is striking at IS positions in Syria, and the coalition is acting without the permission of the country's authorities.
Thanks to the strikes of the Russian air group in Syria, it was possible to radically turn the situation around. More than 15 thousand combat sorties were flown. Significant damage Russian VKS inflicted on terrorist infrastructure. Thousands of strongholds, buried warehouses with ammunition, weapons, military equipment, materiel, fuel and lubricants and explosives. In addition, there was oil production, pumping and refining of fuel, as well as over two thousand means of delivering petroleum products for smuggling to Turkey.
The VKS helped destroy about . During the operation of our Armed Forces, more than people from Russia were killed, including 17 field commanders.
On March 17, 2016, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that during the operation in Syria. Between March and July 2016, nine military personnel were reported killed. On August 1, as a result of an attack on a Russian Mi-8 military transport helicopter.
The material was prepared based on information from RIA Novosti and open sources