Since it’s February 23, the Fatherland’s Defender Day, it would be appropriate to analyze the initial impact of Russia’s forces in Syria. First of all, Russian aircraft have been in combat for almost five months and secondly, the Syrian campaign is on the threshold of a pause largely thanks to the Russian forces.

On Sunday, February 21, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and US Secretary of State John Kerry reached a preliminary agreement on a ceasefire in Syria. Commenting on their phone discussions, Kerry said that “the ceasefire is now closer than ever.” The US State Department later disseminated a joint statement which states that Moscow and Washington offered the warring parties in Syria to stop fighting on February 27 at midnight (Damascus time). This ceasefire does not extend to ISIS, Jabhat al-Nusra, and other organizations designated as terrorist by the UN. The statement emphasizes that Russian and Syrian aircraft will stop attacking Syrian opposition during the ceasefire.


The preliminary ceasefire conditions were agreed to by Russian and US experts in Geneva and supported by the Syrian opposition’s Negotiating High Committee which includes members of several armed groups supported by Saudi Arabia. To be sure, the committee issued a list of its own demands.

The Syrian opposition insists that Russia and Iran “immediately and simultaneously” stopped bombing the opposition and President Assad release political prisoners and lift the siege of opposition-controlled towns to permit humanitarian aid access.

Kerry noted that the preliminary ceasefire details “are still being worked out.”

Sergey Lavrov earlier stated that it was Russian air operations that led to the breakthrough in the situation in Syria. Only thanks to our military successes were the current political negotiations possible.

According to the Main Operational Directorate of the Russian Armed Forces General Staff, Russian Aerospace Forces aircraft performed 6,000 combat missions. There were also about 100 air- and sea-launched cruise missiles used. Since the start of 2016 alone, more than 150 towns in the Aleppo, Idlib, Latakia, Hama, Homs, Damascus, Der ez-Zor, Haseke, Deraa, and Raqqa provinces have been liberated.

–So how does the Russian military contribution to resolving the Syria crisis, how did Russia’s VKS change the tactical and geopolitical balance of power in the region?

–Our military effectiveness is several times greater than that of the US and its allies, says Sergey Yermakov, the Deputy Director of the Taurida Information and Analysis Center. Most importantly, there are tangible effects on the ground: liberated cities, cut supply and ISIS oil smuggling routes. Our successes are confirmed by the Western reactions: on the one hand, the West is actively promoting the ceasefire, and secondly it has put Turkey on a short leash which means we’re not about to see Ankara launch a sizable ground operation

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