Russia’s presence in Syria has become “more aggressive” both in the air and on the ground since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, said Lt. Gen. Alex Hrynkevich, the commander of U.S. Air Force Central Command, which oversees the Air Force presence. American airlines in the Middle East announced this on Monday, CNN reports.
“The Russian presence in Syria has become, I would say, more aggressive since the invasion of Ukraine,” Hrynkevich said at the Air, Space & Cyber2022 conference in Maryland on Monday.
American forces see this as “an increase in pressure both in the air and on the ground from the Russian side,” Hrynkevich added.
He also noted that the situation causes “a little concern” where there are forces on the ground and armed Russian planes fly over them.
“Aircraft and defenders are in close contact with these Russians on a daily basis, intercepting, escorting and providing security for our ground forces in Syria and Iraq as they continue to fight ISIS,” the US official added.
Hrynkevich also noted that this activity of Moscow is managed by “some leading persons who are currently in Syria.”
According to an American official, some of the Russian officers “failed in Ukraine for all the reasons that General Hecker pointed out, and now they are in Syria.”
He claimed that the Russian generals present in Syria are trying to restore their reputation in the Russian armed forces.
“I don’t think they will succeed, but this is what they are trying,” Hrynkevich concluded. (News.ro)
Source: Hot News RO
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