The Russian Defense Ministry released on Wednesday photographs and video depicting the handing over of the Russian S-300 surface-to-air missile systems to the Syrian party.
The photographs, aired by Rossiya 24 TV channel and Russia Today, showed the S-300 complexes being unloaded from a military transport aircraft. The unloading took place in the nighttime.
On Tuesday, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said that as part of the deliveries of the S-300 systems to Syria Moscow had also handed over 49 units of equipment to the Syrian party in order to enhance the safety of the Russian servicemen in the country.
According to the Russian defense minister, it will take the Syrian army three months to learn how to use the complexes.
On September 24, Shoigu announced that Russia would take a number of measures to enhance safety of its troops in Syria, including the deliveries of the S-300 systems, following the crash of Russia’s Il-20 military plane off the coast of Syria, which Moscow believes Tel Aviv was responsible for.
Earlier, US State Department said that it hopes that Russia did not deploy S-300 air defense systems in Syria because that would lead to a serious escalation of the situation.
Source: Russian media
