More than 25 years after the Soviet Army withdrew from Afghanistan, Russia is engaged in an out-of-area operation beyond its frontiers. The Kremlin’s message alleges the air campaign is restricted to combatting the Islamic State in Syria though most of the sorties carry out strikes on the rebel opposition. However, the Kremlin has been clear that the campaign itself will be “temporary,” though this has been contradicted by top brass statements about the number of sorties reaching 300 daily at some point, and others indicating the future emergence of a “massive” air, land and sea military basing presence in Syria …read more
Source: The Jamestown Foundation