A large number of Russians are still fighting for militant forces in Syria, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday.
Speaking
to a gathering of naval officers returning from the region, Putin said
military intelligence believes as many as 4,000 Russians remain in
Syria. A further 5,000 fighters from former Soviet states are also
believed to be fighting.
The
Russian president gave no sign as to how exactly the figures break
down. There are at least nine significant groups still fighting in the
conflict, which is now entering its sixth year.
Russia
has been involved in a military campaign in support of Syrian President
Bashar Assad since September 2015. Russian organization and firepower
have been behind increasingly confident operations to retake ground lost
to opposition forces.
Putin
defended the controversial operations. They had, he said, “dealt a blow
to international terrorism.” Russia stood alone in this fight, Putin
added, hampered by resistance from “so-called partners” in the West.
Later on Thursday, the president announced that he had plans to strengthen Russia’s military further.
He said the priorities for new investment would be strategic nuclear defense and aerospace defense forces.
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