Russia unveils its losses in Syrian war
During three years of military operations in Syria, Russia lost 112 people, stated the former Commander of the Russian Aerospace Forces and the chair of the Federation Council Committee on Defense and Security, Viktor Bondarev, reports Interfax.
According to Bondarev, almost half of these losses are due to the An-26 crash and downed IL-20.
"At the moment, the total loss of our armed forces in Syria is 112 people. In regards to the equipment, we have lost 8 aircraft, 7 helicopters, and possibly 1-2 armored personnel carriers and armored vehicles," said Bondarev.
He also said that the Russian operation in Syria proved that "we have learned to fight." At the same time, for comparison, Bondarev referred to data on the USSR army losses in Afghanistan during the first 3 years of the war. Almost 4.8 thousand dead with loss of at least 60 tanks and 400 armored personnel carriers, infantry fighting vehicles and armored vehicles, 15 aircraft and 97 helicopters.
In addition, Bondarev stated that Russian troops killed 85,000 terrorists in Syria.
"All the attacks of the VKS (the Russian Aerospace Forces) were hit and continue to hit precisely the terrorist targets. During three years, the number of destroyed terrorist targets amounts to tens of thousands. The number of killed terrorists is about 100 thousand. Approximately 85 thousand are the merit of our VKS," said Bondarev.
Russia has been taking part in the Syrian war since September 30, 2015. The Russian military is based at the Khmeimim airbase and the navy base in Tartus. The Russian aviation supports ground operations by Bashar al-Assad troops.