fighter planes in formation over the sea

Russia’s new missile defences in Syria look likely to set off a shooting war against Israel

  • Russia announced on Monday it would send its advanced S-300 missile defence systems to Syria after losing a spy plane to errant Syrian air defence fire.
  • Russia will now reportedly staff Syrian air defences to avoid such shoot-downs in the future, but this puts them in harm’s way.
  • Israel regularly bombs Syrian air defences, and if they kill Russians, it could quickly escalate into war.
  • The US also sometimes strikes Syria, raising the stakes all round of a meltdown in the conflict.

Russia announced on Monday it would send its advanced S-300 missile defence systems to Syria after it lost a spy plane to errant Syrian air defence fire – but the new set-up puts Israel at high risk of killing Russians and starting a war.

Russia blames Israel for Syria, its own ally, firing a Russian-made air defence missile that missed Israeli jets attacking Syria and instead killed 15 Russian servicemen on an Il-20 spy plane.

 

Read the full article by Alex Lockie at Business Insider Australia.