Pullout of troops will not weaken Assad: Moscow

A spokesperson for Russia’s foreign ministry said on Wednesday that the withdrawal of the main part of Russia’s armed forces in Syria would not weaken Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Interfax reported.

Just under half of Russia’s fixed-wing strike force based in Syria has flown out of the country in the past two days, according to a Reuters calculation which suggests the Kremlin is accelerating its partial withdrawal.

President Vladimir Putin on Monday ordered the bulk of the Russian military contingent in Syria to be pulled out after five months of airstrikes, saying the Kremlin had achieved most of its objectives.

The precise number of planes Russia kept at its Hmeymim base in Syria’s Latakia province is secret. But analysis of satellite imagery, airstrikes and defence ministry statements suggested it had about 36 fixed-wing military jets there.

At least 15 of those planes have flown out in the past two days, a Reuters analysis of state television footage shows, including Su-24, Su-25, Su-30 and Su-34 jets.

Reuters could not independently verify the movements of the aircraft and it was impossible to determine whether other aircraft were flying into Syria to replace the planes that left.

Military analysts say the departing Su-24 and Su-25 planes carried out 75-80 per cent of the more than 9,000 sorties flown by Russian pilots, said Maksim Shepovalenko, a former Russian military officer who is now deputy director of the Moscow-based Centre for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies.

John Kirby, a spokesperson for the United States state department, told reporters on Tuesday that he did not have exact details of the Russian military contingent in Syria but said Moscow had “dozens of aircraft” based there.

Russian officials have made clear that two Russian military bases will remain in Syria, as will a smaller strike force of infantry, armour and helicopters. Russia’s advanced S-400 air defence missile system also looks likely to remain.