Missile firing exercises, including hypersonic ones, were conducted this Tuesday by Russia in the Eastern Mediterranean.
“The designated targets were hit by direct impacts,” Russian authorities said.
These exercises come at a time when Syria, an ally of Moscow, is losing ground to a coalition of rebels led by radical Islamists.
Strikes in the middle of the Mediterranean. Russia announced on Tuesday, December 3, that it had conducted exercises involving missile launches, including hypersonic ones, in the Eastern Mediterranean. “High-precision missiles were fired at sea and in the air in the Eastern Mediterranean during an exercise aimed at testing the methods of joint action of the Russian Navy and Air Force”the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement.
Exercises planned in advance
Zirkon hypersonic missiles and a Kalibr cruise missile were fired during these exercises by the frigates Admiral Gorshkov and Admiral Golovko and the submarine Novorossiysk, the ministry said. “The designated targets were hit by direct impacts”he further indicated, adding that these exercises, which involved more than a thousand soldiers, ten ships and 24 planes, were planned in advance.
However, they come at a time when Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, an ally of Moscow, is losing ground to a coalition of rebels led by radical Islamists. The latter, who launched their offensive on November 27, now control the country’s second city, Aleppo, as well as surrounding areas.
Russia, like Iran, has promised Syria a “unconditional support”. It has a naval base and an air base in Syria, where it has intervened militarily since 2015. Not very present during the first days, the Russian air force announced on Sunday December 1 that it was supporting the Syrian army. “to repel terrorist aggression” in northern Syria.
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