A decade of war: RT visits Khmeimim air base from where Russian jets helped turn the tide in Syria’s anti-terrorism campaign

15 Mar, 2021 16:04 / Updated 17 hours ago

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Russia's Khmeimim Air Base in Syria. © RT / Mikhail Khodarenok

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Since the arrival of the Russian military five years ago, the Syrian government was able to retake most of the country from terrorists, while the Khmeimim Air Base has grown from a few tents into a well-protected town.

The Russian military was deployed in Syria in September 2015 after Damascus approached Moscow for assistance in the quickly deteriorating conflict. At that time, some 70 percent of Syria had fallen to anti-government forces, including radicals from Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) and various Al-Qaeda-linked groups.

As Syria marks a decade since the start of the conflict, RT’s Maria Finoshina has visited the home of Russian Aerospace Forces in the country, the Khmeimim Air Base in the western Latakia Province. From there the Russian military paved the way for restoration of peace on most of the country’s territory.

The base, which started as only a few tents in the sand, had been constantly expanded and upgraded, Finoshina reported from the site.
Terrorists frequently target Khmeimim with drones, but those attacks have never been able to inflict damage on the facility due to its state-of-the-art air defense systems.

And Moscow’s support to Damascus goes far beyond military wins. The Russian military has helped some two million refugees return to their homes, with the country’s medics treating around 130,000 Syrian civilians over the past years.

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Russia organized nearly 3,000 humanitarian operations in Syria, with tons of food, water and basic supplies being delivered to Khmeimim and distributed from there to the most heavily affected parts of the country.