Publications

Russian Military Activity: October 8 - 14, 2015

October 14, 2015 - Hugo Spaulding

President Vladimir Putin seeks to project Russian military force forward into the territory of the former Soviet Union while competing with the U.S. for influence in the Middle East.

Joint Syrian-Iranian-Russian Offensive Achieves Only Limited Initial Gains

October 14, 2015 - Chris Kozak

Key Takeaway: The Syrian regime has not gained much terrain in the first week of its large-scale ground offensive against rebel forces, despite support from intensified Russian airstrikes and hundreds of Iranian proxy reinforcements. Operations against the Syrian opposition will likely prove harder and slower than anticipated by either Russia or Iran, protracting the conflict and exacerbating extremism.

Russian Airstrikes in Syria: September 30 - October 12

October 13, 2015 - Genevieve Casagrande
Key Takeaway: The Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) continued to ramp up its aerial campaign in Syria, claiming to conduct 250 “combat sorties” from October 9-12. This spike in Russian military activity is a notable escalation compared to the 20 “combat sorties” flown on October 8. Most Russian airstrikes continued to concentrate in northwestern Hama province in support of a large-scale regime offensive in the area.

Russian Airstrikes in Syria: September 30-October 12, 2015

October 13, 2015 - Genevieve Casagrande

The Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) continued to ramp up its aerial campaign in Syria, claiming to conduct 250 “combat sorties” from October 9-12. This spike in Russian military activity is a notable escalation compared to the 20 “combat sorties” flown on October 8.

Russian Airstrikes in Syria: September 30 - October 12, 2015

October 12, 2015 - Genevieve Casagrande
Key Takeaway: The Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) continued to ramp up its aerial campaign in Syria, claiming to conduct 250 “combat sorties” from October 9-12. This spike in Russian military activity is a notable escalation compared to the 20 “combat sorties” flown on October 8. Most Russian airstrikes continued to concentrate in northwestern Hama province in support of a large-scale regime offensive in the area.

Russian Airstrikes in Syria: September 30 - October 12, 2015

October 12, 2015 - Genevieve Casagrande
Key Takeaway: The Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) continued to ramp up its aerial campaign in Syria, claiming to conduct 250 “combat sorties” from October 9-12.

Russian Military Activity: October 1-8, 2015

October 9, 2015 - Hugo Spaulding

Russia's Syrian campaign is part of larger confrontation with the U.S. and NATO.  In addition to expanding the scope of its operations to bolster the regime of Bashar al-Assad, Russia issued an open challenge to NATO through repeated violations of Turkish airspace, the shadowing of U.S. Predator drones in Syria, and the launch of cruise missiles into Syria from the Caspian Sea through Iraqi airspace without warning the U.S. beforehand. Russia accelerated its efforts to court U.S.

Russian Airstrikes in Syria: September 30 - October 9, 2015

October 9, 2015 - Genevieve Casagrande
Key Takeaway: The Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) claimed that Russian warplanes conducted 67 “combat missions” throughout Syria on October 9, marking the largest number of Russian airstrikes in Syria on a single day since September 30. Russian airstrikes continued to largely concentrate in rebel-held areas of northwestern Syria from October 8-9. In particular, Russian warplanes continued to conduct airstrikes in support of a large-scale regime offensive against rebel positions in the northern Hama countryside.
 

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