Russia’s topline Su-57 deployed to Syria to challenge US, Israeli air might

Sukhoi-57, Russia, US, Israel, Syria

 

Two fifth-generation Sukhoi-57 stealth fighters landed Monday, Feb. 19 at Russia’s Syrian air base, along with 4 Su-35 fighters, 4 Su-25 strike aircraft and an A-50U radar command-and-control platform.

Russia builds four new air bases in Syria, deploys another 6,000 troops

 

Contrary to Moscow’s promises, the Russian military is not pulling out of Syria, but adding four more air bases (one shared with Iran) and 6,000 more troops.

Russia flies 2,000 mercenary troops into Syria

 

Russia is engaged in a major buildup in Syria, both in support of the de-escalation zones established in conjunction with the United States, and in order to solidify its military control of the country.

debkafile’s military and intelligence sources reported exclusively on Wednesday, August 2, that 2,000 mercenaries had just been airlifted into the country, boosting to a total of 5,000 the number of mercenaries on hire from the Wagner Group private contractors for service under the Russian flag in Syria. They are all retirees from elite units of the Russian ground forces, air force or navy.

First Russian base for SE Syria – near US garrison

 

The Russian engineering corps has started building a new base in southeastern Syria at a small village called Khirbet Ras Al-Wa’r in the Bir al-Qasab district. Until now, Moscow adhered to a policy of restricting its military presence to the western part of the country along the Mediterranean coast; no Russian troops were based further east than Palmyra.

VIDEO: Humongous ISIS convoy allowed to escape Raqqa to fight the Syrian Army instead

Please see the source for the video.

 

 

AMASCUS, SYRIA (3:40 A.M.) – Al-Masdar News has obtained jaw-dropping footage from northern Syria suggesting the US-led coalition has allowed hundreds of ISIS vehicles to leave Raqqa city for areas controlled by the Syrian Arab Army (SAA).

Despite Kurdish and American drones hovering above Raqqa on all flanks, the Islamic State convoy remained completely untouched by coalition airstrikes, thus suggesting an under-the-table deal may have been struck between the warring parties:

US, UK, Jordanian forces enter S. Syria

 

US special forces, together with British and Jordanian elite troops, moved into southern Syria late Sunday, May 14. They were acting to counter the Syrian-Iranian scheme to nullify the American plan for posting Jordanian forces in southeastern Syria, which timed for the days before US President Donald Trump’s trip to the Middle East.

The US-led armored force with British and Jordanian units crossed from northern Jordan through the Tanf Border-Crossing between the Hashemite Kingdom, Iraq and Syria, and took up positions capable of consolidating their control of the main road between Palmyra and Baghdad. Some of their moves were coordinated with Israel.

Israel Threatens to ‘Destroy’ Syrian Air Defense Systems

Avigdor Lieberman. Source: REUTERS

 

Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman threatened to destroy Syrian air defense systems after the Syrian military launched ground-to-air missiles against Israeli warplanes illegally carrying out strikes against targets in the country.

“The next time the Syrians use their air defense systems against our planes we will destroy them without the slightest hesitation,” The Time Of Israel quoted Lieberman’s statement on Israeli public radio.

U.S. forces bow to Russian response after ISIL seizes anti-aircraft weapons in Palmyra

ISIL regained control of Palmyra on Dec. 11.

 

The U.S.-led coalition will defer to Russia in retaking Palmyra after Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) regained control of the ancient Syrian city on Dec. 11.

“If they don’t, we will do what we need to do to defend ourselves and we’ll de-conflict those actions with the Russians,” Lt. Gen. Stephen Townsend, who commands the American-led coalition, said on Dec. 14 according to AFP.

ISIL took full control of Palmyra on Dec. 11 after temporarily being stopped by Russian forces.

Russians building army base at Syria’s Palmyra site

Russian base seen in satellite photo. Photo: ASOR/DigiGlobe

 

Beirut: The Russian military is constructing a new army base in the central Syrian town of Palmyra, within the protected zone that holds the archaeological site listed by UNESCO as a world heritage site and without asking for permission from relevant authorities, an American heritage organisation and a top Syrian archaeologist said Tuesday.

The American School of Oriental Research’s Cultural Heritage Initiative posted pictures from the satellite imagery and analytics company DigitalGlobe that show the construction on the edge of the ancient site that was damaged by the Islamic State group, which held Palmyra for 10 months.

A UNESCO official said it was unclear whether the encampment was in a buffer zone to the archaeological site but said it does not form a threat to the historic area.

End of ISIS? Putin ‘sending 150,000 soldiers to Syria to WIPE OUT evil Islamic State’

Thanks to the West’s failure to stand up to ISIS, Vladimir Putin is now set up to look like a hero for the world. What’s more, is that the ISIS issue isn’t a Western failure, but an Obama administration creation. This is why they don’t get bombed away, which could’ve happened yesterday if Obama, Commander in Chief, so deemed it. As oft repeated here, ISIS will not be bombed away, at least until it finishes its job of toppling Syria.

Toppling Syria is a necessary step on toppling Iran, the big prize, so to speak. Although the time frame and goalposts continue to shift, as General Wesley Clark once said: it’s a long-term goal to take out seven countries in five years to keep the next superpower from rising. Putin is attempting to stop just this, as it is a matter of Russian security and its sphere of influence is also in jeopardy. Likewise, it’s opportunity for Russia to expand its borders and bring back the Russian Empire. Vladimir Putin cannot lose in this situation.

 

VLADIMIR Putin is preparing to send 150,000 troops to Syria in a bid to wipe out the evil Islamic State once and for all.

The Russian leader is reportedly mounting an enormous military mission to take control of the terror group’s stronghold of Raqqa.

The city is the self-declared capital of ISIS in Syria and is patrolled by as many as 5,000 jihadi members.

Putin is set to mobilise 150,000 reservists who he conscripted into the military earlier this week.

Bashar Assad: The Beginning of the End

“Based on current trend lines, it is time to start thinking about a post-Assad Syria.” That was the estimate of a United States intelligence official, based on events that occurred in Syria in May.

On May 21, the Islamic State captured the ancient city of Palmyra in central Syria—four days after the same terrorists seized the city of Ramadi in central Iraq. With the capture of both of these cities, the Islamic State gained control of the vast region between them, ensuring the group’s supply routes for weapons.

Analysis: Having taken Ramadi and Palmyra, ISIS is now unstoppable

The capture by Islamic State forces of the Iraqi city of Ramadi, on May 17, has given the organization a fortified urban base less than an hour’s drive from Baghdad. Its near-simultaneous takeover of the central Syrian city of Palmyra, points to the organization’s permanence and demonstrates its widening operational span, which now ranges from Western Libya to the Iranian border. Without an all-out war effort by outside forces, such as Iran, or the United States, it is difficult to see how the Islamic State could be stopped from permanently establishing itself as a major actor in the region. However, such an eventuality is extremely improbable, as no outside force appears willing to confront ISIS in a symmetrical way.

ISIL Controls More Than 50% of Syria AfterPalmyra Seizure – Monitor

It doesn’t matter what you hear from the trained-to-whitewash media, as there is a difference between what’s happening on the ground and what’s being said.

 

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Earlier in the day, a local source told Sputnik that after week-long battles Syrian government forces withdrew from Palmyra to avoid the destruction of the historic part of the city, one of the most important cultural and archaeological sites in the Middle East. A majority of Palmyra’s population was evacuated.

ISIS Makes Up To $3 Million a Day Selling Oil, Say Analysts

For two weeks, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and forces loyal to Bashar al-Assad have been battling for control of the Shaar gas field, one of Syria’s largest, near the landmark city of Palmyra. On July 19, it was reported that the Sunni militant group had killed 270 regime fighters, taking control of the field in what was reportedly one of the conflict’s deadliest 48-hour periods to date.

As ISIS steams further into Syria, analysts say a significant portion of its financial resources come from the crude oil it sells on the black market; accordingly, oil fields have become prime targets in the fight. So do gas fields like Shaar, where disruption of lines lead to electricity shortages and power cuts in regime-controlled areas as far as Damascus.