T-14 tanks with the Armata Universal Combat Platforms. © SPUTNIK/ EVGENY BIYATOV
Alina Polyakova, The Atlantic: Russia Is a Great Power Once Again
Putin’s Syria intervention saved Assad. But is he ready for what comes next?
In December, Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed victory over the Islamic State in Syria. This, of course, was the objective the Kremlin announced in 2015, when Russia first intervened in the country. Yet from the outset, the Russian air campaign primarily hit non-ISIS targets. It soon became clear that Putin’s chief goal was to ensure the future of Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian dictator. With Russian military backing, Assad, whose demise was once the ostensible focus of U.S. policy in Syria, has secured his regime’s survival and taken back swathes of territory previously held by U.S.-backed rebels.
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WNU Editor: No .... Russia is not a great power .... just another power. And while the Syrian war has propelled Russia into a major player in the Middle East .... this is temporary. The Syrian war will end one day, and the bill to repair the mess will be due. In this regard .... Russia does not have the funds .... nor is there any support in Russia .... to rebuild Syria. And I suspect that many countries will not fill in the void with Russia being in the background and Assad in command.
