September 10, 2015 | Quote

We’re Reportedly About to See Some Familiar Russian Faces in Syria — and That’s Trouble

Some of the Russian troops reportedly being sent to Syria are from the same brigade that helped annex Crimea, according to a lengthy investigation conducted by Ruslan Leviev, a specialist in social-media intelligence.

The Kremlin has declined to comment, but, if true, “the deployment of an elite unit from Crimea, which inaugurated Russia's standoff with the West, is an intriguing choice,” notes The Daily Beast's Michael Weiss.

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“I think it just makes logistical sense [that Russia would deploy a brigade from Crimea to Syria],” Boris Zilberman, a Middle East and Russia expert at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told BI by email.

“The Eastern [Meditterraenean] is the AOR [Area of Responsibility] of the Black Sea Fleet. It wouldn’t make sense to deploy these types of troops from Kamchatka for instance,” he said.

“Also, seeing as how they’ve recently participated in the annexation of Crimea, they are probably more combat-ready then others.”

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Issues:

Russia Syria