Russia began direct military intervention in Syria

Russia has begun a military intervention in Syria by deploying an air contingent to a permanent Syrian base. According to diplomatic sources, one camp has already been established at an air base in the Damascus area controlled by forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad, reports the Patria News Agency.

Russia is expected to deploy several thousand military personnel in the coming weeks, including advisors, instructors, logisticians, and technicians.

There is no concrete information about the composition of the contingent at this moment, but Russia has previously negotiated the sale of multi-purpose MiG-29s and subsonic advanced Yak-130 training aircraft. Ynetnews writes that there is no doubt that Russian pilots will influence the existing dynamics of Middle Eastern conflicts.

Officially, Russia has no offensive intentions towards Israel and other states, and the main goal of the deployment is to keep Assad in power and fight ISIL, writes Index.