Russia Conducts Missile Launch Drills in the Eastern Mediterranean

On Tuesday, Moscow announced that it had conducted drills involving missile launches, including hypersonic missiles, in the Eastern Mediterranean, while Russian forces continue to support their ally, Syria, after losing control of territories following a surprise attack by armed factions.

According to the Agence France-Presse, the Russian Ministry of Defense issued a statement saying, “Precision-guided missiles were fired at sea and air targets in the Eastern Mediterranean during a training exercise aimed at testing joint operational methods of Russian naval and air forces.”

The Ministry explained that “Zircon” hypersonic missiles and “Kalibr” cruise missiles were launched during the drills from the frigates “Admiral Gorshkov” and “Admiral Golovko” and the submarine “Novorossiysk.”

The statement added that the “designated targets were struck directly,” and that the drills, which involved over 1,000 soldiers, 10 ships, and 24 aircraft, had been pre-planned.

Russia is a key ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and has military bases in Syria, where it has been intervening since 2015 in support of government forces.

These drills come after armed factions led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham launched an attack on Wednesday, resulting in the complete loss of control of the city of Aleppo in northern Syria by government forces for the first time since the conflict began in 2011. The factions also took control of dozens of towns and villages in the Aleppo, Idlib (northwest), and Hama (central) provinces.