More than 50 Russian warplanes and helicopters are currently in action in Syria – all lined up and ready at the airfield in western Syria camouflaged by their khaki livery.
Andrew Roth, Washington Post: After four months, Russia’s campaign in Syria is proving successful for Moscow
MOSCOW — Four months after launching airstrikes in Syria, the Kremlin is confident that Moscow’s largest overseas campaign since the end of the Soviet Union is paying off.
Under the banner of fighting international terrorism, President Vladimir Putin has reversed the fortunes of forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, which were rapidly losing ground last year to moderate and Islamist rebel forces in the country’s five-year-old crisis. Government forces are now on the offensive, and last week, they scored their most significant victory yet, seizing the strategic town of Sheikh Miskeen from rebels who are backed by a U.S.-led coalition.
According to analysts and officials here, the Russian government believes it has won those dividends at a relatively low cost to the country’s budget, with minimal loss of soldiers’ lives and with largely supportive public opinion.
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WNU Editor: For the moment the Russian military is on a roll .... but this Syrian conflict has been going on for a long time, and while the Russian military intervention has helped the Assad regime, this conflict is far from finished.