Russia reported Tuesday that it had carried out exercises that included firing missiles, some of them hypersonic, in the Mediterranean eastern, in a context in which its Syrian ally Bashar al-Asad loses ground to a coalition of rebels led by radical Islamists.
“High-precision missiles were fired into the sea and into the air in the eastern Mediterranean, in an exercise to test the methods of joint action of the Russian Navy and Air Force”indicated the Ministry of Defense in a statement.
“The groups made up of various anti-submarine and assault forces carry out firing with missiles, artillery and torpedoes, as well as practical bombing”said a statement from the Department of Defense on Telegram.
For this reason, the Russian Navy increased its presence in the Eastern Mediterranean, where about a thousand soldiers and a dozen warships, equipped with Tsirkon missileswhich have a range of 1,000 kilometers.
In addition, 24 aircraft – including MiG-31 fighters – have been added, carrying Kinzhal missiles, and also the Bastion coastal missile systems.
The frigates ‘Admiral Fleet of the USSR Gorshkov’ and ‘Admiral Golovko’ practiced firing with Tsirkón missiles; while the submarine’Novorossiisk‘ launched Kalibr cruise missiles, which are frequently used in Ukraine.
The exercises, which began on Sunday, according to the note, are led by the commander-in-chief of the Russian fleet, Alexander Moiseev.
Defense stressed that the exercises are carried out in strict accordance with the norms of international law and in accordance with other countries to prevent incidents in international waters.
The Russian contingent in Syria admitted on Sunday to having bombed enemy positions in the provinces of Idlib, Hama and Aleppo, in coordination with the Syrian Army, the second Syrian city that has been taken by the rebels.
Both official media and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an NGO whose headquarters are in the United Kingdom, have been reporting for days about the attacks by Russian aircraft.
The Russian president, Vladimir Putinand the Iranian, Masud Pezeshkian, expressed on Monday during a telephone conversation their “unconditional” support for the Bashar al Assad regime in the face of the offensive by Islamist groups.
“Unconditional support was expressed for the legal actions of the Syrian authorities to restore the constitutional order and territorial integrity of the country,” the Kremlin said in a statement.
Putin y Pezeshkian They addressed “the large-scale aggression of terrorist groups and armed formations,” which they interpreted as an attempt to “undermine the sovereignty and political, social and economic stability of the Syrian State.”
The head of the Kremlin ordered a military operation in September 2015 that prevented the overthrow of Assad, although now the Russian Armed Forces are engaged in the war campaign in Ukraine.
(With information from AFP and EFE)
