A powerful Russian naval armada led by a Slava-class cruiser has assembled in the Eastern Mediterranean, while hypersonic-armed MiGs are in the air over the Caspian. By all appearances it looks like a Syrian offensive against Idlib Jihadistan is a go and Russia is making sure there will be no interference
Looks like we are seeing the final preparations for the Syrian offensive on Idlib.
Couple of noteworthy things:
1. Masses of Russian ships in the Mediterranean off Syria, with many dozens of Kalibr cruise missiles and hundreds of Tor anti-air missiles between them:
Also some reports of Mig-31′s patrolling the Caspian with the new Kinzhal missiles:
This reportedly represents the greatest concentration of Russian naval assets in the Syrian theater since the start of the war.
2. Meanwhile:
The US and its allies are preparing new airstrikes on Syria, the Russian Defense Ministry said, adding that militants are poised to stage a chemical weapons attack in order to frame Damascus and provide a pretext for the strikes.
Support Russia Insider - Go Ad-Free!The attack would be used as a pretext for US, UK and French airstrikes on Syrian targets, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman, Major General Igor Konashenkov said. USS ‘The Sullivans,’ an Arleigh Burke-class Aegis guided missile destroyer, was already deployed to the Persian Gulf a couple of days ago, he added.
This isn’t the first time a Russian warning of a chemical weapons attack was preceded by an actual strike, so a provocation seems quite realistic. Especially with John Bolton as good as egging them on.
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