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Russian intervention in the Syrian civil war
Part of the military intervention against ISIL and the Syrian Civil War
Two Sukhoi Su-25s at Bassel Al-Assad International Airport in Latakia during the intervention
Date 30 September 2015 – present (9 years, 3 months and 6 days) Location Syria Status Ongoing
Belligerents
Aerial combat  Russia  Syria Ground forces  Iran Iranian-backed Shi'ite militias  Syria Hezbollah Supported by:  Iraq	Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant	Free Syrian Army Supported by:  Saudi Arabia  United States  Turkey Army of Conquest: al-Nusra Front / al-Qaeda Ahrar ash-Sham Supported by:  Saudi Arabia  Turkey  Qatar
Commanders and leaders
Vladimir Putin Sergey Shoygu Valery Gerasimov Andrey Kartapolov Viktor Bondarev Bashar al-Assad Fahd Jassem al-Freij Ali Abdullah Ayyoub Issam Hallaq Ali Khamenei Hassan Rouhani Qasem Soleimani Hassan Nasrallah Haider Abadi Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein	Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi Abu Mohammad al-Adnani (Spokesperson) Abu Suleiman al-Naser (Replacement Military Chief) Abu Ali al-Anbari (Deputy, Syria) Abu Omar al-Shishani (Field commander in Syria)	Albay Ahmed Berri Abu Mohammad al-Julani (Leader of the al-Nusra Front) Abu Yahia al-Hamawi (Leader of Ahrar ash-Sham)
Units involved
Russian Armed Forces: Aerospace Forces Russian Navy Caspian Flotilla Syrian Armed Forces: Syrian Army Syrian Air Force File:Flag of the National Defense Force.svg National Defence Forces Iranian Armed Forces: IRGC Quds Force IRGC Ground Forces Shi'ite militias (including Iraqi Shi'ite militias) Kata'ib al-Imam Ali Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq Badr Organization Faylaq Waad al‐Sadiq Kata'ib Hezbollah Kata'ib Sayyid al-Shuhada Liwa Fatemiyoun Liwa Ammar Ibn Yasir al‐Hamad Brigade Liwa al‐Imam al‐Hassan al‐Mujtaba Saraya Talia al‐Khurasani Liwa Abu al-Fadhal al-Abbas Liwa Abu Fadl al‐Abbas Tashkil Iraq Qaeda Quwet abu Fadl al‐Abbas Liwa Assad Allah al‐Ghalib Liwa Zulfiqar Liwa al‐Imam al‐Hussein Promised Day Brigade Afwaj al-Kafil Saraya al‐Aqidah Saraya al‐Dafa al‐Shabi Hezbollah	Military of ISIL	Falcons of Mount Zawiya Brigade Tajammu al-Izzah 13th Division al-Nusra Front Ahrar ash-Sham Jaysh al-Islam Liwa al-Haqq Ajnad al-Sham
Strength
Coalition forces: Russia: 3 Buyan-M class corvette 1 Gepard-class frigate 12 Su-24Ms 12 Su-25SMs 6 Su-34s 4 SU-30SMs 15 Mi-24P and Mi-8AMTSh 3 SA-22 SAMs Syria: 150,000 personnel Iran: 7,000-15,000 Shi'ite militias: 20,000	Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant: From 30,000 to 100,000 fighters (according to the CIA and the Iraqi Kurdistan Chief of Staff) At least a few hundred tanks and assorted armored vehicles	Free Syrian Army: Between 45,000 and 60,000 fighters (disputed) Islamic Front : 40,000–70,000 al-Nusra Front: 10,000 Ahrar ash-Sham: 10,000–20,000
Casualties and losses
3 Russian volunteers killed, 13 Iranian officers and volunteers killed	200 killed (per Russia; by 9 Oct.) 75 killed (per SOHR; 23 Oct.)	220 killed (150 FSA, 31 al-Nusra)
151 civilians killed (per SOHR; 23 Oct.)

On 30 September 2015, Russia started military intervention in the Syrian Civil War, consisting of air strikes by Russia against militant groups opposed to the Syrian government, including al-Nusra Front, the Islamic State and the Army of Conquest. The Russian Air Force had significant ground support from the Syrian military, Iranian Revolutionary Guards, and allied militias. Prior to this intervention, Russian involvement in the Syrian Civil War had mainly consisted of supplying the Syrian Army. Russia intervened after a formal request from the Syrian government for military help against rebel and jihadist groups in Syria. Russian officials have acknowledged their objective is to help the Syrian government retake territory from various opposition groups, including groups backed by the United States.

Background

The Syrian Civil War is being waged between multiple opposition and government groups and their local and foreign support bases, who share a shifting, complex web of inter-relationships. As several months of air strikes conducted by the U.S.-led coalition ostensibly against ISIL targets appeared to have resulted in further expansion and strengthening of the ISIL, Russia in September 2015 started sending its own Russian-operated warplanes and other military hardware as well as combat troops to an airbase near the port city of Latakia in Syria. The action was undertaken at an official request by the Syrian government headed by President Bashar al-Assad. In October 2015, it was revealed that the Russian operation in Syria may have been devised during the visit by Qasem Soleimani, commander of the Iranian Quds Force, to Moscow in July 2015, which was then denied by Russian officials.

At the end of September 2015, a joint information centre in Baghdad was set up by Iran, Iraq, Russia and Syria to coordinate their operations against ISIL (in the newsmedia the centre is also referred to as "Joint Operations Room in Baghdad known as the 4 + 1" implying the Lebanese Shia militia Hezbollah, in addition to the 4 states). According to Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov′s statement made in mid-October 2015, prior to the start of its operations in Syria, Russia invited the U.S. to join the Baghdad-based information center but received what he called an "unconstructive" response; Putin′s proposal that the U.S. receive a high-level Russian delegation and that a U.S. delegation arrive in Moscow to discuss co-operation in Syria was likewise declined by the U.S. According to Alexander Yakovenko, Ambassador of Russia to the United Kingdom, the Russian government received similar rebuttals from the UK government.

On 30 September 2015, the upper house of the Russian Federal Assembly, the Federation Council, granted the request by Russian President Vladimir Putin to deploy the Russian Air Force in Syria. On the same day, the Russian representative to the joint information centre arrived at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad and requested that any U.S. forces in the targeted area in Syria leave immediately. An hour later, the Russian aircraft based in the government-held territory began conducting airstrikes ostensibly against ISIL and other rebel targets.

Three weeks into the Russian campaign in Syria, on 20 October 2015, Russian president Vladimir Putin met Bashar Assad in Moscow to discuss their joint military campaign and a future political settlement in Syria, according to the Kremlin report of the event.

On 23 October 2015, RT reported that Russia and Jordan had agreed to set up a coordination center in Amman for the two countries to share information on the counter-terrorism operations.

Operations by Russian military

The first series of air strikes took place on 30 September 2015 in areas around the cities of Homs and Hama, targeting the mainstream opposition. Russian warplanes attacked rebel positions "in al-Rastan, Talbiseh and Zafaraniya in Homs province; Al-Tilol al-Hmer in Quneitra province; Aydoun, a village on the outskirts of the town of Salamiya; Deer Foul, between Hama and Homs; and the outskirts of Salmiya". In total, 20 flights were made. Most of the initial airstrikes targeted positions of the Chechen fighters, Islamic Front's Jaysh al-Islam (Army of Islam), and Free Syrian Army.

According to Hezbollah media outlet Al Mayadeen, the Saudi/Turkish-backed Army of Conquest around Jisr ash-Shugour was bombed on 1 October by Russian planes; at least 30 air strikes were carried out. Another series of Russian airstrikes carried out that same day hit ISIL positions in Raqqa governorate.

On 2 October, head of the foreign-affairs committee in the Russian parliament, Aleksey Pushkov, said that the Russian airstrikes could go on for three to four months and would intensify; he later said that this was a mere surmise of his and he was not privy to any knowledge on the issue. In the morning, the Russian Air Force launched four airstrikes on ISIL in the ancient Syriac city of Al-Qaryatayn, and the T4-Palmyra highway, Homs province. An ISIL command and control center was destroyed in a single airstrike in Al-Qaryatayn, while an ISIL convoy on their way to the Teefor-Palmyra highway was attacked. Following the airstrikes, the Syrian Army and National Defence Forces pushed ISIL out of the town of Maheen towards Al-Qaryatayn after a two-hour engagement that killed 18 militants and destroyed two technicals mounted with ZU-23-2s. Syrian forces then launched a counter-attack south-west of Al-Qaryatayn to recover the main road.

In the same day, the Russian Air Force began bombing Al-Nusra Front positions in al-Rastan and Talbiseh in the Homs province. Later, they proceeded with bombing Al-Nusra in Kafr Zita, Al-Ghaab Plains, Kafr Nabl, Kafr Sijnah, and Al-Rakaya in the Hama province. The Syrian Air Force and the Russian Air Force jointly bombed Al-Nusra in Jisr al-Shughur. At night, the Russian Air Force targeted ISIL with 11 airstrikes over Al-Raqqah while targeting electrical grids outside it, two airstrikes over Shadadi-Hasakah highway, and three airstrikes in Al-Mayadeen, Deir ez-Zor province. The primary ISIL military base in Tabaqa Military Airport was also attacked, with the barracks being destroyed in two airstrikes. Near the Military Airport, an ISIL weapons supply depot in Al-'Ajrawi Farms was also bombed. At the same time, the ISIL primary headquarters in Tabaqa National Hospital was heavily damaged in a Russian airstrike. In Al-Hasakah province, the Russian Air Force targeted ISIL in Al-Shadadi and Al-Houl, while the Syrian Air Force attacked an ISIL convoy along the Deir ez-Zor-Hasakah highway.

On 3 October, reports indicated that Hezbollah and Iranian fighters were preparing major ground offensives to be coordinated with Russian airstrikes. According to CNN, the Russian defense ministry said its soldiers bombed nine ISIL positions near the terror group's de facto capital in Raqqa. At least 11 were killed in an alleged double strike by Russia in Syria's Idlib province, according to opposition groups. During the day, the Russian Air Force made four airstrikes over Al-Nusra controlled Jisr al-Shughur, and additional ones in Jabal Al-Zawiya, and Jabal al-Akrad. One of the targets was an Al-Nusra reinforcement convoy heading from Jisr al-Shughur to the northeast countryside of Latakia province.

On the morning of 7 October 2015, according to the Russian officials, four warships from the Russian Navy's Caspian Flotilla launched 26 3M-14T Kalibr NK cruise missiles that hit 11 targets within Syrian territory. The missiles passed through Iranian and Iraqi airspace in order to reach their targets at a distance of well over about 1,500 kilometers (930 miles). The same day, Syrian ground forces were reported to carry out an offensive under Russian air cover. According to CNN citing unnamed U.S. military and intelligence officials, 4 of 26 cruise missiles on 8 October crashed in Iran, well before reaching their targets in Syria. Russia claimed all of its missiles hit their targets. Iran also denied any missile crash on its territory. Iranian defence ministry rejected any reports alleging that four of the 26 cruise missiles crashed in Iran saying the CNN reports are part of the West's "psychological warfare".

On 8 October 2015, the number of air raids increased significantly up to over 60 sorties a day, a tempo maintained for the next 2 days. The Russian defense ministry announced on 9 October that up to sixty ISIL targets were hit in the past 24 hours, supposedly killing 300 militants in the most intense strikes so far. One of the raids targeted a Liwa al-Haqq base in the Al-Raqqah Governorate using KAB-500KR precision-guided bombs, in which two senior ISIL commanders and up to 200 militants were killed, despite the lack of connection between Liwa al-Haqq and ISIL. Another assault destroyed a former prison near Aleppo that was used by ISIL as a base and munitions depot, also killing scores of militants. Rebel training sites in the Latakia and Idlib provinces were allegedly hit as well. Meanwhile, ISIL militants made advances in the Aleppo area on 9 October, seizing several villages, including Tal Qrah, Tal Sousin, and Kfar Qares, in what the Associated Press called a "lightning attack". The attacks were unencumbered by either Russian or U.S.-led coalition airstrikes. The ISIL advance came at the expense of rebel groups also targeted by Russian and Syrian forces.

In mid-October 2015, a joint Russian-Syrian-Iranian-Hezbollah offensive targeting rebels in Aleppo went ahead.

Weapons and munitions employed

Russian forces in Syria were reported to have used a mix of precision-guided munitions and unguided weapons. The October airstrikes were Russia's first operational use of precision guided munitions, whose development in Russia lagged behind other nations due to economic instability in the 1990s. The majority of weapons employed, however, were unguided.

Exploding suicide drones have been deployed by Iran and Russia.

Cooperation with Iran's involvement

Iran continues to officially deny the presence of its combat troops in Syria, maintaining that it provides military advice to Assad's forces in their fight against terrorist groups.

Key victories were achieved with substantial support provided by the Quds force, namely the al-Ghab plains battles, Aleppo offensives, Dara'aya offensives of 2015 and the al-Qusayr offensives which established government and Hezbollah control over the northern Qalamoun region and the border crossings from Lebanon to Syria. In June 2015, some reports suggested that the Iranian military were effectively in charge of the Syrian government troops on the battlefield.

After the loss of Idlib province to a rebel offensive in the first half of 2015, the situation was judged to have become critical for Assad's survival. High level talks were held between Moscow and Tehran in the first half of 2015 and a political agreement was achieved; on 24 July, ten days after the signing of the nuclear agreement between Iran and the P5+1 countries, general Qasem Soleimani visited Moscow to devise the details of the plan for coordinated military action in Syria.

In mid-September 2015, the first reports of new detachments from the Iranian revolutionary guards arriving in Tartus and Latakia in west Syria were made. With much of the SAA and NDF units deployed to more volatile fronts, the Russian Marines and Iranian Revolutionary Guard (IRG) have relieved their positions by installing military checkpoints inside the cities of Slunfeh (east Latakia Governorate), Masyaf (East Tartus Governorate) and Ras al-Bassit (Latakia coastal city). There were also further reports of new Iranian contingents being deployed to Syria in early October 2015. It is generally thought that Iran will be playing a leading role in the ground operations of Syria's army and allies, whilst Russia will be leading in the air in conjunction with the Syrian air force, thereby establishing a complementary role.

Outside of the battlefield itself the Iranian government has dramatically increased its efforts in supporting the Syrian government.

Reactions

Syria

 Syria: Ambassador to Russia, Riyad Haddad, stated that the Russian air force is acting in full coordination with the Syrian army. He added that Syria's position is that the Russian intervention is the only legitimate intervention under international law and called for other countries to join the "non-criminal" Russian intervention in Syria. Hezbollah linked Al Manar reported President Assad as saying the "Syria-Russia-Iran-Iraq Front must succeed or the region would be destroyed." Assad said that chances of this alliance's success are big.

International

Supranational

 NATO - NATO has condemned Russian air strikes and urged Russia to stop supporting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. On 8 October, they renewed assurances to defend the allies in view of the "escalation of Russian military activities."

States

 China - China denied reports that its armed forces were sent to Syria. China announced that more humanitarian aid would be sent.

 Cuba - Cuba has said claims it sent troops to fight in Syria were false.

 Egypt supports the Russian air offensive. On 3 October, Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said the Russian entry into war in Syria was bound "to have an effect on limiting terrorism in Syria and eradicating it."

 Iraq supports the Russian intervention in Syria and has permitted Russia to fly over Iraq with its war planes.

 Israel - Shortly prior to the Russian intervention, the Israel Defense Forces and Russian military had set up a joint working group to coordinate their Syria-related activities in the aerial, naval, and electromagnetic arenas. The Israeli government was primarily concerned about ensuring that the potential alliance between Hezbollah and Russia is not detrimental to its security. According to Zvi Magen, former ambassador to Moscow, "Israel made clear to him that we have no real problem with Assad, just with Iran and Hezbollah, and that message was understood."

 Jordan – On 23 October, Jordan agreed to set up a "special working mechanism" in Amman to coordinate military actions with Russia in Syria. Russian foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov called for continued expansion of the alliance, saying ""We think that other states that participate in the anti- terrorist fight can join this mechanism as well."

 Saudi Arabia – On 1 October, Saudi Arabia′s senior diplomat at the UN demanded that Russia cease its intervention, repeating claims made by Western diplomats that Russia was targeting the unnamed "moderate" anti-government opposition rather than ISIL.

 Turkey - President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, after a series of violations of the country′s airspace by Russian military aircraft in early October, warned that Russia's military operation in Syria could jeopardise the bilateral ties between the countries.

 United Kingdom - Prime Minister David Cameron said "It's absolutely clear that Russia is not discriminating between Isil and the legitimate Syrian opposition groups and, as a result, they are actually backing the butcher Assad and helping him". British troops will be sent to the Baltic states and Poland following Russia's intervention in Syria "to respond to any further provocation and aggression".

 United States - In early October, President Barack Obama was reported to have authorised the resupply—against ISIL—of 25,000 Syrian Kurds and 5,000 of the armed-Syrian opposition, emphasising that the U.S. would continue this support now that Russia had joined the conflict.

The U.S. ruled out military cooperation with Russia in Syria. Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter and other senior U.S. officials said Russia's campaign was primarily aimed at propping up Assad, whom President Barack Obama has repeatedly called upon to leave power.

On 8 October, U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter, talking at a meeting of NATO defence ministers in Brussels, said he believed Russia would soon start paying the price for its military intervention in Syria in the form of reprisal attacks and casualties. He added that he expected "in the next few days the Russians will begin to lose in Syria." He further said Russia's campaign was primarily aimed at propping up Assad,

Joint statement

U.S.-led coalition - On 1 October, participants in the U.S.-led anti-ISIL coalition called on Russia to curtail its air campaign in Syria, saying the airstrikes had hit Syrian opposition groups and civilians. Such strikes would "only fuel more extremism", the statement issued by the U.S., UK, Turkey and other coalition members declared. "We call on the Russian Federation to immediately cease its attacks on the Syrian opposition and civilians and to focus its efforts on fighting ISIL." U.S. President Barack Obama, at a news conference on 2 October, underscored the coalition statement by saying the Russian action was driving moderate opposition groups underground, and would result in "only strengthening" IS.

Non-state

Representatives of the Kurdish YPG and PYD expressed their support for Russian air strikes against Islamic State, al-Nusra Front and Ahrar ash-Sham. They also asked for Russian help in weaponry and for the cooperation with Russia in the fight against Islamic State. Shortly after the Russian air strikes started, Salih Muslim, co-chair of the PYD, has said in an interview that he doesn't believe "that America will object because al-Nusra and Ahrar al-Sham are no different than Daesh. They are all terrorist organizations and share the same radical mentality."

On 30 September, Russian Orthodox Church spokesman Vsevolod Chaplin, talking about the support of the government's action on the part of all the religious groups in Russia, said the fight against terrorism was a "moral fight, a holy fight if you will". Leader of the Central Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Russia, Chief Mufti Talgat Tadzhuddin stated: "We fully back the use of a contingent of Russian armed forces in the battle against international terrorism."

Over 40 anti-government groups, including factions such as Ahrar ash-Sham, Jaysh al-Islam and the Levant Front, were reported, on 5 October, to have vowed to attack Russian forces in retaliation for Moscow's air campaign.

Al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate al-Nusra Front has set a reward for the seizure of Russian soldiers of 2,500,000 Syrian pounds (approximately US$13,000). Abu Ubaid Al-Madani, who speaks Russian, released a video addressed to the Russians warning that they would massacre Russian soldiers. Abu Mohammad al-Julani called for Russian civilians to be attacked by former Soviet Muslims and called for attacks on Alawite villages in Syria.

The Syria-based, Al-Qaeda linked Saudi cleric Abdallah Muhammad Al-Muhaysini threatened that Syria would be a "tomb for its invaders" or "graveyard for invaders" in response to the Russian intervention and brought up the Soviet war in Afghanistan.

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant declared Jihad upon the Russians in a recorded vocal communiqué by Abu Mohammed al-Adnani.

The Muslim Brotherhood of Syria issued a statement declaring Jihad against Russia obligatory (Fard 'ayn) upon all who are able to carry weapons. They cited the Russian Orthodox Church's call of the operation as a Holy War.

Fifty-five Saudi religious scholars signed a statement against the Russian intervention, first addressing the Russians as "Oh Russians, oh extremist people of the Cross", reminding them of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and addressing the Orthodox Russia as the heir of the Soviet Communists, accusing them of "supporting the Nusayri regime" and invading "Muslim Syria", accusing the leaders of the Russian Orthodox Church of declaring a "Crusade" and telling them they will meet the fate of the Soviet Union and suffer "a shameful defeat in the Levant" as what happened in Afghanistan. The statement also addressed "Our people in the Levant", telling able-bodied and people who are able to contribute to join the "Jihad" instead of emigrating. The statement also called for all factions against the government in Syria to unite; the statement addressed "Arab and Muslim countries", telling them that there is a "real war against Sunnis and their countries and identity" at the hands of the "Western-Russian and Safavid and Nusayri alliance", calling for the termination of all relations with Iran and Russia with Muslim countries and to "protect the land and people of the Levant from the influence of the Persians and Russians", especially calling upon Qatar, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia to support the Levant. The statement called on "all those who are able, and outside of Saudi Arabia, to answer the calls of jihad".

The Free Syrian Army's "Homs Liberation Movement" threatened suicide bombings against Russians in Syria.

Photos of Uyghur fighters of the Turkistan Islamic Party were released with captions in Arabic that said "standing up strongly to the Nusayri army and the Russians." (المجاهدين التركستانيين يتصدى بقوة للجيش النصيري ومن قبل الروس).

Analysis and media

Prior to the start of the Russian operation in Syria as well as afterwards, Russian analysts believed that Russia′s military build-up in Syria was aimed inter alia at ending the de facto political and diplomatic isolation that the West had imposed on Putin in connection with the situation in Ukraine.

30 September:

• Dozens of videos emerged on unspecified Internet websites, allegedly showing the effects of Russian bombings of residential areas causing civilian casualties. Russia stated that the reports about civilian casualties were posted before the bombing raids had actually started and described this to be information warfare.
• Thomas L. Friedman, a columnist for the New York Times, wrote that by allying himself with Syria and Iran in battle, Putin would "alienate the entire Sunni Muslim world, including Russian Muslims". His advice to the Obama administration was: "Putin stupidly went into Syria looking for a cheap sugar high to show his people that Russia is still a world power. Well, now he’s up a tree. Obama and John Kerry should just leave him up there for a month – him and Assad, fighting ISIS alone – and watch him become public enemy No. 1 in the Sunni Muslim world."
• The publication Voice of America predicted a major backlash against the Russians at the hands of jihadists.
• Jeremy Shapiro, a senior fellow in the Brookings Institution, believed Putin′s military intervention was "incredibly stupid stuff" that had surprised the U.S., as they "had not understood that the Russians were this self-destructive." Russia "made a mistake because they're banking on coercing the US and its regional allies into accepting that Assad has to be part of any eventual solution (..) they're attempting to change the situation on the ground in order to negotiate from a position of strength (..) The US, by the way, has the exact same but opposite strategy: to change the situation on the ground so that Assad and his backers understand they can't survive militarily (...) This is a very, very familiar proxy war cycle from the bad old days of the Cold War, and it's incredibly damaging to the country in question (..) So, you know, it's a nightmare. (..) It's actually pretty easy to envision a solution or compromise here. It's not that far from the Geneva Communique that they signed in 2012 . It does involve a real compromise on Assad, particularly from the United States, in which we say, "Look, we're going to design a political process, and we're not going to demand a guarantee that Assad will not come out the other end of it." "

4 October, Robert Fisk, senior Middle East correspondent for The Independent, wrote that "the Russian air force in Syria has flown straight into the West's fantasy air space. The Russians, we are now informed, are bombing the "moderates" in Syria – "moderates" whom even the Americans admitted two months ago, no longer existed."

The Syrian Arab News Agency reported that anti-government fighters were in panic and fleeing Syria in their thousands in response to the Russian intervention. They expressed the view that the "moderate opposition" were in fact hired mercenaries trained in CIA supervised training camps in Turkey, Jordan, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, many of whom had switched allegiance and taken their weaponry to ISIL and other terrorist groups paying more once they controlled the oil fields.

On 8 October 2015, the BBC quoted U.S.-based analyst Michael Kofman as opining that Russia sought the defeat of fighters backed by the U.S., and its coalition allies, leaving the Islamic State and al-Nusra Front as the only alternatives to President Assad; he noted that a more robust American campaign against ISIL would be complementary to Russian goals, and a win-win scenario for Assad: "Ultimately, Russia and Iran have secured their position in Syria. Assad or no Assad, the West will have to deal with Russia directly, and most likely as an equal, in settlement to the Syrian conflict."

In mid-October 2015, The New York Times opined that with anti-government insurgents in Syria receiving for the first time bountiful supplies of U.S.-made anti-tank missiles and with Russia raising the number of airstrikes against the government's opponents that had raised morale in both camps, broadening war objectives and hardening political positions, the conflict was turning into an all-out proxy war between the U.S. and Russia. This analysis was shared by the Dutch quality newspaper NRC Handelsblad.

See also

• Military activity of ISIL
• Foreign involvement in the Syrian Civil War
• List of wars and battles involving ISIL
• Russia–Syria relations
• Timeline of the Syrian Civil War (August–December 2015)
• Cold War II

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External links

• Russian Ministry of Defence Syria site (Russian language)
• Russian Ministry of Defence Syria site (English language)
• Analysis of Russian goals in their intervention by Dmitri Trenin, Carnegie Moscow Center

• 2015 in Russia
• 2015 in the Syrian Civil War
• Battles involving the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in Syria
• Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and Russia
• Military operations involving Russia
• Military operations involving Iran
• Military operations involving Iraq
• Military operations of the Syrian Civil War
• Russia–Syria relations
• Syrian Civil War