Loading ...Moscow — Russia will deploy the S-400 air defense missile system in the Syrian airbase of Hmeimim, 30 kilometers (18 miles) from the Syrian-Turkish border, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced on Wednesday.
“The S-400 air defense missile system will be brought to the Hmeimim base at the decision of the commander-in-chief,” the minister said at a meeting with staff.
The move comes after Turkey shot down a Russian Su-24 strike jet on Tuesday near the Syrian-Turkish border claiming that the jet violated Turkish airspace. Moscow denied the assertion.
Russian aircraft are among the numerous nations conducting airstrikes in Syria. While Russian officials describe the operation there as “an anti-terrorism mission,” U.S. and other officials have said the Russian strikes are designed to prop up the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
This S-400 surface-to-air missile system can shoot down aerial targets at a distance of 250 kilometers (156 miles) and non-strategic ballistic missiles at a distance of 60 kilometers (37.5 miles). The system, an older generation of air defense technology, can also target as many as 36 targets simultaneously.
Russian President Vladimir Putin accused Turkey on Tuesday of being “accomplices of terrorism” and warning that the downing of the jet will “have serious consequences” for Russian-Turkish relations.
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said on Wednesday that the relationship with Turkey has suffered a “damage difficult to compensate.”
wj