The article says that September 30 marks five years since the beginning of the Russian military operation to help Syria free from terrorist groups.
Shoigu noted that for the first time in the country's modern history, the Russian Armed Forces were used "in such a remote theater of operations."
According to him, dozens of units of military and special equipment, hundreds of servicemen and impressive stocks of materiel were promptly airlifted from Russia to Syria - over a distance of more than 2,500 km, in compliance with unprecedented camouflage measures.
“Sometimes in the discussions going on to this day the question arises: did Russia do the right thing in taking on that difficult task?
But each time it can be argued that the mission was necessary in Syria, and the decision to start a military operation was correct, if not the only possible one, ”Shoigu wrote.
The Minister of Defense noted that during the Russian operation in Syria, more than 133 thousand militants were killed.
According to him, the task set by the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, Russian President Vladimir Putin five years ago, has been "fully completed."