Syria restores pride of Russian military after years of decay

Special to WorldTribune.com

Geostrategy-Direct, May 16, 2016 Edition

After years of neglect and decay that saw its ranks shrink from five to one million personnel, Russia signaled with its mission in Syria that it has returned as a major military force.

Tu-22 strategic bombers of Russia's Aerospace Defense Forces over Syria.
Tu-22 strategic bombers of Russia’s Aerospace Defense Forces over Syria.

Millions of Russians saw on nightly news casts how Russia’s modernized force dominated on the Syrian battlefield with precision bombs being dropped on terrorist and rebel targets. The images have restored a sense of national pride in President Valdimir Putin’s rebuilt military.

Viktor Baranets, a retired army colonel, military analyst for Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper, and former press secretary to the defense ministry said Russia is slowly beginning to catch up with Western armies on the technological front.

“For a long time we heard about some American Sergeant John, who sits in the Pentagon basement and launches a rocket while having a coffee, and then drives home knowing the rocket hit its target. Now we are starting to see the same thing in the Russian army,” Baranets said.

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