Reports of the deaths of Russian troops in Syria are untrue. This was reported in the Ministry of Defense of Russia.

“The information circulated by one of the Russian media about the alleged death of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation does not correspond to reality. We draw attention to the fact that the author of the material has repeatedly published unverified information based on rumors, ”the agency said.

Earlier, the Vedomosti newspaper, citing a “military-diplomatic source,” reported that three Russian soldiers allegedly died in the Idlib region of the Syrian de-escalation zone. The publication claimed that a group of eight people was moving to a “strong point”, but two mines fired 30 meters from it, resulting in three officers killed and two seriously injured.

However, the Ministry of Defense emphasized that there are no "Russian strongholds" in this region.

“There are no“ Russian observation posts ”in the area of ​​the village of Dzhurin in the Idlib de-escalation zone,” the department emphasized.

Recall, at the moment, Idlib remains the last stronghold of militants in Syria. As Russian President Vladimir Putin noted, 90% of the de-escalation zone is controlled by terrorists.

“And we are seeing constant sorties from there, moreover, that is especially dangerous, we are seeing the transfer of militants from this region to other regions of the world, and this is an extremely dangerous thing. Attempts were made to attack our air base in Khmeimim just from the Idlib zone, so we support the efforts of the Syrian army to conduct local operations to stop these terrorist threats, ”Putin said during talks with French counterpart Emmanuel Macron.

So, chronologically, the last attempt to attack the militants against Russian servicemen in Khmeimim was carried out on September 3. The Ministry of Defense reported that on the evening of this day, two terrorist attack drones approached the air base and were shot down by Russian air defense forces.

"By the standard anti-aircraft fire weapons of the Russian air base, two terrorist unmanned aerial vehicles were destroyed at safe distances," the ministry said in a statement.

It is noted that no one was injured as a result of this attack, and no material damage was caused.

  • Russian front-line bombers Su-24 at the Khmeimim air base
  • RIA News
  • © Ramil Sitdikov

Ceasefire

In the area of ​​the de-escalation zone, Damascus has repeatedly made efforts to establish a ceasefire. So, unilaterally, the Syrian government troops ceased fighting on August 2. However, already on the 5th, due to the ongoing violation of the ceasefire by the militants, Damascus was forced to resume hostilities. Later, already on August 31, the Syrian army again ceased fire, already at the initiative of the Russian Center for the Reconciliation of the warring parties (CPVS).

“In order to stabilize the situation, the Russian Center for the Reconciliation of the warring parties reached an agreement to unilaterally cease firing in the Idlib de-escalation zone from 6:00 a.m. on August 31, 2019,” the CPVS said in a statement.

It was noted that this should allow civilians to freely leave the territory controlled by the militants.

“Endangered”

However, on the same day, August 31, the United States launched an air strike against Idlib. According to representatives of Washington, the attack was carried out at the "control post of Al-Qaeda * in Syria." Nonetheless, the blow led to numerous casualties and destruction in several localities, the CPVS reported. The ministry also noted the fact that the United States also did not inform about the intention to strike either Russia or Ankara, which violates the agreements reached between the parties.

“By their actions, the United States threatened to maintain a ceasefire in the Idlib de-escalation zone, and tore it down in a number of directions,” the ministry said in a statement.

The actions of the US military led to the fact that the militants in Idlib opened fire, but the Syrian military continues to adhere to the cessation of hostilities in order to expedite a peaceful settlement in the region.

* Al-Qaeda - an organization recognized as terrorist by decision of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation of 02.14.2003