Putin's "limited contingent": how many Russian troops are in Syria? In the kill zone: what weapons does the Russian army use in the fight against terrorists in Syria.

On December 11, President and Supreme Commander Vladimir Putin personally arrived at the Russian Khmeimim military base in Syria to order the withdrawal of the Russian group. This decision is explained by the end of the military operation, the result of which was the liberation of Syria from the militants of the Islamic State (an organization banned in Russia), under whose control, according to the Ministry of Defense, not a single settlement remained.

However, talking about the withdrawal of troops should still be very conditional - there will still be a lot of Russian military in Syria. "Our Version" found out who is not yet destined to return home.

It is noteworthy that nowhere in the news it is impossible to find data on exactly how many soldiers will return to their homeland. The fact is that the total number of weapons and personnel involved in the operation has never been officially named. According to some reports, in the most active phase of the counter-terrorist operation in Syria, the Russian aviation group consisted of up to 70 aircraft and helicopters. As of November 2017, there were approximately 35 combat aircraft in Khmeimim (including Su-25SM attack aircraft, Su-24M and Su-34 front-line bombers, MiG-29SMT, Su-30SM and Su-35S fighters), army aviation, represented by transport helicopters and fire support helicopters Ka-52, Mi-35M and Mi-24P. According to official statements, 23 Russian aircraft of various modifications and 2 Ka-52 helicopters will be withdrawn from Syria. Ultimately, the composition of the grouping may be reduced to one aviation squadron. It is assumed that this will be enough to strike at the scattered militant groups remaining in Syria. In the event of an aggravation of the situation, the military will be able to increase the number of aviation groups in just a few days. Therefore, the withdrawal of troops can again turn into input.

Will the ground grouping be replaced by PMCs?

However, in the event of an escalation of the conflict or attempts by the Islamists to group up, the Russian military will not be limited to the mere help of aviation from Khmeimim. To support the Syrian army, high-precision weapons can be used at any time, the possibility of this was demonstrated by the missile ships of the Caspian flotilla, which, if necessary, will strike with Caliber-NK cruise missiles. In a short time, long-range aviation aircraft, which have fully worked out the use of modern missiles, will also be able to provide support to the troops fighting in Syria.

In Syria, two military facilities will continue to fully function: the Khmeimim air base and the naval logistics center in Tartus.

The equipment and weapons that are used to cover them will not be withdrawn. The divisions of the S-400 Triumph anti-aircraft missile systems deployed in Khmeimim and Masyaf, the battery of the S-300V4 anti-aircraft missile system in Tartus and a certain number of Pantsir-S1 anti-aircraft missile and gun systems will remain in Syria. Russian drones will also remain in Syria, with the help of which monitoring of de-escalation zones is carried out. The military claims that such a composition of the group is able to successfully carry out the assigned tasks with the same efficiency.

The ground grouping will also be seriously reduced. Recall that until recently, according to various sources, there were about 2.5 thousand military personnel in Syria. Marine units, consolidated motorized rifle units, which were armed with armored personnel carriers and armored vehicles, tanks and self-propelled artillery units, took part in the operation. Now their number will be significantly reduced. To date, a detachment of the International Mine Action Center of the Russian Armed Forces has already arrived at the point of permanent deployment in Nakhabino near Moscow, which carried out the tasks of clearing Syrian cities. In addition, a battalion of the military police of the Southern Military District returned to Makhachkala, which controlled the cessation of hostilities in the de-escalation zones, as well as ensured the safety of the civilian population during humanitarian actions and accompanied humanitarian convoys.

However, earlier it was reported more than once that the main combat missions on the ground were carried out by private military companies (PMCs). What will happen to them now is unknown. It is possible that in connection with the withdrawal of part of the ground grouping, the ranks of PMCs will even grow - someone needs to replace the retired military.

Americans do not believe in the withdrawal of troops

The military started talking about the withdrawal of troops from Syria at the end of October. Then the government troops took control of approximately 95% of the territory of the republic, after which it was stated: they say, the Syrians no longer need more large-scale support. The Pentagon's reaction to the withdrawal of the Russian group from Syria is curious - the US military said that Russia's plans "will not affect the US priorities in Syria in any way." Apparently, in this way the Americans show that they do not trust the reports about the withdrawal of Russian troops. At the same time hinting that Russia had previously announced a reduction in the size of its group, but then again increased it. Recall that in March 2016, the military already received an order to begin the withdrawal of the main part of the Russian forces “in connection with the successful completion of tasks,” after which the air group was reduced from 69 to 25 units. By that time, Russian troops had practically liberated Palmyra, however, the largest city of the country, Aleppo, and significant territories throughout the country remained under the control of the militants. For the second time, the Minister of Defense spoke about the reduction of the grouping in December 2016. So the current withdrawal of troops is the third in a row. Will there be a fourth? How to know. Last week, ISIS extremists tried to raise their heads again, so anything is possible. So far, the situation is reminiscent of the story of 1996, when, on the eve of the elections, Boris Yeltsin arrived in Chechnya, where he announced victory over terrorists and signed a decree on the withdrawal of federal troops. However, as you know, this did not bring peace and the Chechen campaign continued for several more years.

Leonid Ivashov, President of the Academy of Geopolitical Problems, Colonel General:

– I believe that this time the decision on the withdrawal of Russian troops from Syria is final. The long, endless participation of the troops of any country in armed conflicts negatively affects public opinion. Especially when there is no common unifying idea. Initially, the successes in Syria were taken pathetically and patriotically, but today, against the backdrop of the deteriorating economic situation of a significant part of the population, society is beginning to make claims that the state spends a lot on the Syrian conflict and little on pensions and salaries. Plus, the loss factor is triggered - according to the Ministry of Defense, they are minimal, but nevertheless they are perceived by citizens very painfully. Therefore, the decision to withdraw is correct and timely - it is necessary to leave on the wave of victory over the terrorists and the obvious strengthening of Russia's positions in this region.

It remains an open question whether Russia will subsequently participate in the Syrian conflict. I think that this cannot be ruled out. Two military bases remain in Syria - aviation and naval. This means Russia's permanent military presence in the region. And if necessary, the grouping will increase. If it is necessary to use great military power, then our naval groupings and long-range aviation will be involved in the shortest possible time. Russia will not deploy additional military bases, as well as participate in other military conflicts in this region, as a last resort, these will be peacekeeping operations under the auspices of the UN.

I assume that Russia's transition to a geopolitical offensive will continue. In addition to Syria, there are other points on the map where Russia must be present in order to defend its interests. These are Vietnam, Cuba, Venezuela and a number of other countries that invite us. Therefore, I believe that our episodic presence with the arrival of ships and landings of strategic aircraft, as was the case in Indonesia, will increase. And this is not the aggressiveness of Russia or its Supreme Commander-in-Chief - this is a necessity to ensure their security.

There are no lulls and truces in information wars. The most striking example of this was the story of the death of Russian soldiers near El Salhiyah on February 7th. For several days now we have been witnessing a real orgy about this, and it in itself causes enormous damage to the country. What should be done to minimize this damage?

The American air strike that happened last Wednesday in Syria is still echoing throughout the Russian information field. He overshadowed both the presidential campaign and sexual-oligarchic scandals. Yesterday, on Thursday, the Russian Foreign Ministry acknowledged the deaths of several Russian citizens - specifying that we are talking about five people who are not members of the Russian army. But by this time, passions had been raging in the networks for a week, and this is the picture that has developed in the minds of average citizens.

On February 7, near the city of El-Salkhiyah, Deir ez-Zor province, the Americans hit a column of a Syrian detachment advancing on the positions of American-supported groups. With this detachment were our militias, employees of a private military company. People died - and here disputes-shouts begin. Considering that on the very first day information about two hundred killed Russians was thrown in, many were distrustful not only of this figure, but also of the very fact of the death of their compatriots.

However, a detailed picture of what happened gradually began to emerge, the names of the dead began to emerge. Indeed, it turned out that there were more than 10 dead - but hardly more than 20. Apparently, these are both citizens of Russia and residents of Donetsk and Lugansk. If the original figure given by the Americans is correct (and they were talking about a hundred killed in the Syrian convoy), then it turns out that about one-sixth of these losses are ours.

On the very first day, the Russian Defense Ministry stated that “the incident with the shelling of the Syrian militias by the US coalition occurred due to reconnaissance and search actions of the militias that were not coordinated with Russia,” and “there are no Russian military in this area of ​​​​the province of Deir ez-Zor.” In the form of the Ministry of Defense, it is absolutely right, but in fact this could not calm the agitated Russian society.

How was it necessary to behave in this situation - not only the Ministry of Defense or the Foreign Ministry, but in general our entire government?

Be honest about what you have. That is, on the very first day or two, recognize the losses among our guys, call them heroes without going into the analysis of the reasons for their death(more precisely, the one whose mistake or inconsistency led to it - this needs to be sorted out, but not publicly).

But this, after all, would mean recognizing the presence of PMCs in Syria, or rather, informal assistants to the Russian army, volunteers. Do you understand, they tell us that we cannot do this because of the conventions of the international game? It's like recognizing the actions of the special services. No one ever confesses to the work of their agents, and PMCs in the modern world are just such a form of covering up state policy with supposedly private activities. Yes, the Americans recognize their PMCs, but they have a different situation. They do not hide their global ambitions, and they have a lot of non-Americans in these companies.

This explanation of silence is understandable at the level of argumentation of our foreign policy tactics. But it is completely unsatisfactory for domestic politics, and for two reasons at once.

Firstly, the very illegality of PMCs is wrong- relatives of these volunteers have no guarantees of providing for them in case of loss or injury of the breadwinner. The fact that they exist at an unofficial level does not negate the fact that in such cases dependence on the human factor is unacceptable. Well, and the fact that relatives who do not officially have any guarantees are nervous and worried about their future - and why do they need such an additional test? This is the human dimension.

Secondly, and this is already a state scale - Silence about unofficial fighters weakens the credibility of the authorities, and hence to the Russian state itself. Because it opens up space for speculation and sabotage informational techniques: "they betray, abandon, use, do not think about people, enemies of Russia." That is, hostile propaganda (let's call a spade a spade) immediately begins to rub salt in the wound with kilograms. And the authorities cannot answer anything, because initially, even before the event, they did not recognize the very subject of the conversation.

And the damage from such “black PR” is much greater than from information about the death of our people in the Syrian war. Even if a hundred or two hundred people really died, all this could be explained to their people. And now we see that the death of a dozen guys is becoming an occasion for large-scale speculation that should have been and could have been nipped in the bud.

But in order to do so, it is necessary to seriously restructure the very format of the government’s reaction to “hot topics”. This applies not only to Syria or Ukraine, but also to various internal political scandals and events. Officials and deputies should react quickly and clearly - without looking back at the Kremlin, without waiting for what the president or his press secretary will say. There are no taboo topics (except for state secrets) and uncomfortable questions - you can and, most importantly, need to talk about everything with the people. To speak frankly, as Putin knows how to do, with all the restrictions that his post imposes on him.

Power in Russia relies primarily on trust – and people trust Putin. But in order for them to trust the government as a whole, trust in the president alone is not enough. All branches and levels of government must learn the skills of "high-speed information combat" - this is not a matter of desire, but a matter of survival. Not the authorities, but Russia as such.

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Since September 30, 2015, at the request of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Russia on terrorist targets in Syria. In March 2016, Russian President Vladimir Putin decided to withdraw most of the Russian Aerospace Forces in connection with the successful completion of tasks. On December 11, 2017, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the withdrawal of Russian troops from Syria, which had been there since September 2015 at the request of Damascus. However, on the territory of the Arab Republic.

2018

On May 27, during shelling by militants in the province of Deir ez-Zor in Syria. Two Russian military advisers who controlled the fire of the Syrian battery died on the spot. Five Russian servicemen were injured and were promptly taken to a military hospital. Two of them could not be saved.

On May 7, during a planned flight over the eastern regions of Syria, a Russian Ka-52 helicopter. Both pilots died, their bodies were found and taken to the airfield. According to the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, the cause of the incident could be a technical malfunction.

On May 3, a Russian Su-30SM fighter jet crashed in Syria. The accident occurred over the Mediterranean Sea, when the fighter was gaining altitude after takeoff from the Khmeimim airfield. Both pilots, who fought for the plane until the last minute, .

On March 6, a Russian An-26 military transport aircraft crashed while landing at the Syrian Khmeimim airfield. As a result of the tragedy, one of which has the rank of major general, as well as ensigns and contract servicemen. All of them were servicemen of the Russian Armed Forces.

On February 3, in the Syrian province of Idlib, a Russian Su-25 aircraft was shot down, the pilot managed to eject, but died, of the Jabhat al-Nusra organization banned in Russia *.

On January 3, it became known that a Russian Mi-24 helicopter crashed in Syria, 15 kilometers from the Hama airfield. Both pilots were killed. According to the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, the cause of the tragedy was no fire impact on the Mi-24.

2017

On October 10, pilot Yuri Medvedkov and navigator Yuri Kopylov died in Syria. To carry out a combat mission, the Russian Su-24 aircraft they controlled was destroyed during acceleration to take off from the Khmeimim airfield.

On October 2, Russian Colonel Valery Fedyanin died after being wounded in Syria. An officer when terrorists blew up a land mine under a car in which Fedyanin was delivering humanitarian aid in the Syrian province of Hama.

On September 25, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation reported that Lieutenant General Valery Asapov during an attack by terrorists from a group of the Islamic State terrorist organization banned in Russia*. Asapov was the head of a group of Russian military advisers and was at the command post of the Syrian troops fighting in the area of ​​the city of Deir ez-Zor. During a mortar attack on terrorists, the general was mortally wounded.

On September 4, it became known that two Russian contract soldiers were killed in Syria as a result of a mortar attack by militants of the Islamic State* terrorist group banned in Russia. Servicemen in a motorcade of the Russian Center for Reconciliation in the province of Deir ez-Zor.

On July 10, during a mortar attack by terrorists in the Syrian province of Hama, on duty, a native of the city of Sol-Iletsk, Orenburg Region, 33-year-old military adviser Captain Nikolai Afanasov.

On May 3, in Syria, saving a comrade from terrorists, Captain Evgeny Konstantinov, who, as a military adviser, helped the command of the Syrian army in training and educating military personnel.

On April 20, it became known that Russian military adviser Major Sergei Bordov died in Syria during an attack by militants on a military garrison. The officer involved in the training of the Syrian units did not allow the terrorists to break into a residential town, taking command of the Syrian military. During the battle Sergey Bordov.

On April 11, it became known that two Russian servicemen were in Syria, and one more was wounded. According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, the Russian military contract service, who were in one of the units of the Syrian army as instructors of shooting training, along with an officer - a Russian military adviser, were subjected to mortar fire from a group of militants.

On March 2, private contract soldier Artem Gorbunov, who was performing tasks in Syria to protect a group of Russian military advisers, in the Palmyra region, while repelling an attempt to break through a group of IS militants * to the positions of Syrian troops, where military advisers were located.

February 20 Russian Ministry of Defense that four Russian servicemen were killed and two wounded in Syria when a car was blown up by a radio-controlled landmine on February 16. The automobile convoy of Syrian troops, in which a car with Russian military advisers followed, followed from the Tiyas airfield area in the direction of the city of Homs. When the convoy drove about four kilometers, a radio-controlled charge went off under the car in which the Russian servicemen were.

2016

On December 8, according to media reports, in the Palmyra region, when radical Islamists began fighting to return the city under their control, the commander of the airborne assault battalion, a native of Kalmykia, Major Sanal Sanchirov, died. December 13 Sanal Sanchirov .

On December 7, it became known that Russian military adviser Colonel Ruslan Galitsky died of wounds received during shelling by militants of the so-called "opposition" of one of the residential quarters of Aleppo. Military doctors fought for the officer's life for several days, but they failed to save him. Galitsky was part of a group of advisers who carry out tasks in Syria. The command of Colonel Galitsky to a high state award posthumously.

On December 5, as a result of shelling of the Russian mobile military hospital deployed in Syrian Aleppo: Sergeant Major Durachenko Nadezhda Vladimirovna, Junior Sergeant Mikhailova Galina Viktorovna, Professor of the Department of Children's Diseases of the Military Medical Academy named after M. Kirova Arsentiev Vadim Gennadievich. As a result of the shelling, local residents who arrived at the reception also suffered. The Russian Defense Ministry regards the incident as a planned murder, the responsibility for which is also its patrons in the West.

On August 1, a Russian Aerospace Forces Mi-8 helicopter carrying out a humanitarian mission was shot down in the Syrian province of Idlib. On board were three crew members and two officers from the Russian Center for Reconciliation. According to official information received from the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, they all died heroically, trying to steal the car in order to.

On July 22, it became known that Russian soldier Nikita Shevchenko died in the Syrian province of Aleppo while performing the task of escorting a convoy of vehicles from the Center for Reconciliation of Warring Parties. Shevchenko followed the convoy with food and water for local residents in an escort car. At the entrance to the settlement next to the car, an improvised explosive device planted by militants went off. Russian military doctors are on site, but they failed to save him.

On July 8, Russian military instructor pilots Ryafagat Khabibulin and Yevgeny Dolgin died in Syria during a flight over Palmyra.

As specified in the ministry, on this day a large detachment of militants of the Islamic State terrorist organization banned in the Russian Federation * attacked the positions of Syrian troops east of Palmyra. Having broken through the defense, the terrorists were able to capture the dominant heights. At this time, Khabibulin and Dolgin flew over the Syrian Mi-25 helicopter. The crew commander Khabibulin decided to attack the terrorists. Competent actions of the Russian crew attack the terrorists. The helicopter crew was killed.

On June 19, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced the death in Syria of a serviceman guarding a humanitarian convoy of the Russian Center for the Reconciliation of Warring Parties. Sergeant Andrey Timoshenkov was killed when he stopped a car filled with explosives, in which a suicide bomber tried to break through to the place of distribution of humanitarian aid to residents of Homs province. When the car exploded, Andrey himself.

In May, while performing a combat mission in Syria. By decree of the President of the Russian Federation, he was awarded the Order of Courage posthumously.

On May 11, it became known that in the province of Homs, while performing tasks to escort cars of the Russian Center for the Reconciliation of Warring Parties, Russian serviceman Anton Erygin was seriously injured as a result of shelling by militants. Immediately after, he was taken to the hospital, where military doctors spent two days, but they failed to save Anton Erygin.

In the first half of May, Russian contract soldier Junior Sergeant Mikhail Shirokopoyas was wounded in the province of Aleppo. He was supposed to stay in Syria for three months. Military doctors promptly provided medical assistance to the serviceman, he was taken to a military clinical hospital in Moscow by a special aircraft of the RF Ministry of Defense. June 7 Mikhail Shirokopoyas.

On April 12, the helicopter of the Russian armed forces Mi-28N "Night hunter" crashed in Syria near the city of Homs. As a result of the crash.

According to media reports, the dead pilots were graduates of the Syzran Higher Military Aviation Pilot School: commander Andrey Okladnikov, 2000, and navigator Viktor Pankov, 2011. Before the trip to Syria, the helicopter crew served in the 487th separate helicopter regiment in Budennovsk, Stavropol Territory.

March 24 Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation in Syria. Senior Lieutenant Alexander Prokhorenko died during air strikes on terrorists near Palmyra. The officer called fire upon himself when he was discovered and surrounded by militants. By decree of Russian President Vladimir Putin, for the courage and heroism shown in the performance of military duty, Prokhorenko was awarded the title of Hero of Russia. The body of the deceased officer Prokhorenko was brought to Russia, the officer was buried in the village of Gorodki, Tulgansky district.

On February 1, as a result of a mortar attack by Islamic State* terrorists on a military garrison where one of the units of the Syrian army is stationed, a Russian military adviser was mortally wounded. The name of the military adviser who died in Syria. Later, Russian President Vladimir Putin named the deceased - Ivan Cheremisin.

2015

November 25 Russian officer Fedor Zhuravlev, who died in the line of military duty in Syria, Bryansk region. Fedor Zhuravlev was a gunner whose job it was to coordinate Russian air strikes. He gave his life while aiming missiles for long-range strategic aviation.

On November 24, a Russian Su-24 was over Syrian territory. The crew commander and navigator managed to eject before the plane crashed. Commander Oleg Peshkov died as a result of shelling by militants from the ground during landing, navigator Konstantin Murakhtin was rescued by a search and rescue group of Russian infantry with fire support from Syrian special forces. Marine Alexander Pozynich died during the rescue operation.

*Terrorist and extremist organizations banned in Russia

The material was prepared on the basis of information from RIA Novosti

Image copyright AFP

D3 years ago Russia officially joinedVSyrianth war - 14 months after the United States did it.

On September 30, 2015, the Aerospace Forces (VKS) launched the 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 death of Russians who took part in the hostilities outside the line of the Ministry of Defense.

By the time of the Russian intervention in Syria, a civil war had been going on for five years between the army and other forces supporting President Bashar al-Assad, rebels and Islamists opposed to him, including militants of the Islamic State banned in Russia (IS, ISIS).

The Russian service of the BBC summed up the interim results of the Russian campaign.

Why is Russia involved in the Syrian civil war?

The main tasks of Russia's military actions are "to stabilize the legitimate government and create conditions for the search for a political compromise" in Syria, Vladimir Putin said in October 2015. By "legitimate authority," the Russian president meant the Assad regime.

Moscow also seeks to destroy ISIS and the Jabhat al-Nusra group (banned in Russia, both organizations appear on the UN sanctions list) and other associations that it considers terrorist.

Image copyright Tass

Sometimes these tasks come into conflict with each other. “The very first clumsy and brutal military operation was not against ISIS, but against the Free Syrian Army, which posed an immediate threat to the regime,” Mark Galeotti, a New York University professor and expert on Russian security, noted 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 had been the main foreign policy topic of the previous year for Russians, had ended.

"He [Putin] needed a red herring to cover up the failure of the war in eastern Ukraine," said Anders Åslund, a Swedish economist and diplomat and expert on Russia.

With what forces is Russia involved in the war?

Air strikes by 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 their zone of control over the country. Among other things, Assad and his military allies (including those from Iran and Lebanon) regained control of Aleppo, the country's largest city, in December 2016.

At the same time, the Islamic State's borders were shrinking. Among other things, the IS lost a number of oil fields: oil smuggling served as one of the important sources of financing for the group.

Click Two years of Russia in Syria

September 2017

September 30, 2015

How much is the merit of Russia?

Although Assad's troops have significantly expanded their zone of influence after 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 IS to be the merit of the United States, which entered the war in early August 2014, and "to a lesser extent" - 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 "Heyat Tahrir ash-Sham"(represents the union Jabhat al-Nusrs" and dozens of other similar groups).

Russia's allies can be called government troops Syria, Iran and the Lebanese group Hezbollah.

Moscow has complicated relations with other parties. At the very beginning of the operation, Russia was criticized for strikes against representatives of the anti-Assad Free Syrian Army (FSA), which is openly supported by USA in its fight against the Assad regime and ISIS.

"Stroytransgaz" Gennady Timchenko, a businessman close to President Putin, had started a business in Syria before 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 region 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 is ongoing.

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, which was destroyed during the fighting, Senator Dmitry Sablin said during a visit to Syria in April 2016.

Just patriotic Russian businessmen also tried to find their business benefit in war-torn Syria. Shoe manufacturer and retailer Zenden(second in terms of turnover in the Russian Federation) Andrey Pavlov decided to start shoe production in Syria in autumn 2016.

Prior to this, some of the shoes for the brand were sewn in Turkey. After the armed forces of this country shot down a Russian plane, the businessman decided to curtail his production there. In addition, sewing shoes in Syria was cheaper.

As a result, Zenden shoes are made in a factory in Latakia, not far from the Russian military base. And in the Russian stores of the network, special shelves appeared with a sign "Made in Syria".

By now, Pavlov has "tied up" with the production of shoes in Syria, the businessman himself told the BBC Russian Service. "In the season, perhaps, we will cooperate," he added, noting that only summer shoes were sewn at the factory.

The Russian Ministry of Defense was unable to promptly respond to requests for information on this material sent by the BBC Russian Service.

The Syrian army has been fighting single-handedly against ISIS terrorists and other groups for 5 years now, these guys are true heroes and patriots of their country, for their homeland, for their president, they stand to the last.

March 2011, riots and rallies against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad begin on the streets. The army is trying to calm the protesters, but in the summer of that year they take up arms and a civil war begins, the opposition declared itself the "Free Syrian Army" (SAA). After several years of fighting, the FSA weakened and faded into the background, terrorist groups began to play the main role in the theater of operations. In the summer of 2014, the brutal terrorists of the ISIS group went on the offensive and captured many territories, the Syrian army was already exhausted, and then a large group began to resist them. By the fall of 2015, Bashar al-Assad's forces controlled only 1/3 of Syria, and if not for Russia's entry into the conflict, Assad's legitimate regime would have to capitulate. On September 30, 2015, Russian aviation began to bomb terrorists, this contributed to the successful offensive of the Syrian army, today the offensive continues successfully, the victory will be for government troops!

As part of the Syrian army, the fair sex is fighting on an equal footing with men. In the occupied territories, the militants mistreat local women, therefore, they go to the troops as volunteers. No favors are given to them. Girls are prepared for military service in special camps. In total, there are 4 women's companies in the Syrian army: headquarters, medical, sniper and communications companies. Among the weapons they have rifles and machine guns, the main task of the detachments is to work at checkpoints and patrol large cities, including Damascus. At the moment, there are about 900 girls in the thick of the fighting, one of their battalions is called "Lionesses of Defense". Syrian women fight under the slogan "For Syria to the last drop of blood".

Russian assistance to Syria in the form of reliable and effective air support is invaluable, at the sight of our aircraft, ISIS militants retreat in a panic, abandoning their weapons, equipment ...

Syrian tanks before the assault on Aleppo, 2015

Before the war, the number of the Syrian army was more than 300 thousand people, after 5 years, no more than 150 thousand remained in the ranks, but despite this, the army continues to fight, having tremendous combat experience behind it.