While Russian fighter jets pound rebel positions on the battlefield in Syria, Russian military strategists are playing a far more subtle role in support of President Bashar al-Assad.
Several sources - on both sides of the battle lines - have confirmed in interviews conducted over the past two months that Russian advisers have been involved in drawing up plans to secure Damascus, Assad’s seat of power.
Those interviewed, including non-Syrian military officials fighting alongside Assad’s forces, said Russia’s plans to buttress Damascus involve weakening rebel forces in the south of the country between the capital and Jordan. The aim is to reduce the rebels’ chances of launching a major offensive.
The Russian Defence Ministry did not respond to written questions for this article. Russia has said it has no ground troops in Syria beyond those protecting its bases. Russia does concede it has trainers and advisers on the ground, but only in an educational and advisory capacity.
Russia’s influence in military planning is already evident, rebel fighters and the non-Syrian military officials say.
They say Russian experts played a major role in a Syrian army offensive at the turn of the year in the western coastal province of Latakia, home to the Alawite population of which Assad is part.
That offensive helped pave the way for the Syrian army to push towards the Turkish border, cutting the insurgents’ supply lines from Turkey.
Degrees of involvement
The extent of Russian involvement on the battlefield is disputed, however.
Two military officials, neither of them Syrian but both fighting alongside the Syrian army, said Russian officers and military experts had helped in the planning and directed the offensive in Latakia.
According to their account, the Russians were in charge of artillery fire and provided artillery cover, not just air strikes. “The coast battle was theirs,” said one of the sources.
A Syrian military source in Damascus last week, said on condition of anonymity that the Russians were partners, but he denied they had a leadership role.
“The Russian role in participation, in planning and executing military operations is being reinforced all the time. It is participation, not management,” said the source.
“The Russians take part in the ground and air planning, but at the end, the Syrian officers are the ones who know the land, the fronts, the geography better.”
Moscow says that its main goal in Syria is to target hardline jihadist groups which pose a global threat, including to Russia.
Dae’sh commander Abu Omar al-Shishani is a Chechen. He is believed to be leading thousands of fighters most of them from Chechnya and Central Asia.