Russian Military on Alert After Suspected Israeli Airstrike Destroys Russian Missiles in Syria
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Tens of thousands of Russian troops have been placed on alert after a suspected Israeli airstrike destroyed advanced, Russian missiles recently delivered to Syria.
Last week, in the Syrian port city of Latakia, several pre-dawn explosions were reported to have destroyed advanced Russian missiles that had recently arrived and were being temporarily stored at the port. A spokesman for the opposition Free Syrian Army, describing the July 5 attack, said Tuesday that “It was not the FSA that targeted this. It is not an attack that was carried out by rebels.” The FSA spokesman, Qassem Saadeddine, went on to say “This attack was either by air raid or long-range missiles fired from boats in the Mediterranean.” The suggestion is that Israel was behind the attack. The Russian-made Yakhont anti-ship missiles, it is speculated, could have been considered a threat to Israel’s naval forces.
Israel has not commented on the attack. In May, Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon commented that Israel “will know what to do” in the event that Russian missiles were delivered to Syria. Israel has carried out previous airstrikes in Syria, including and attack upon vehicles carrying weapons towards the Lebanese border.
In a July 13 report from the official Russian news agency, ITAR-TASS, The Russian Defense Ministry has announced what is being described as “the most ambitious [check alert] in the history of post-Soviet test readiness.” A check alert, according to the Defense Ministry is a mobilization for exercises designed “to test the readiness of units to perform assigned tasks, and assessment of the level of training of personnel, staffing and technical readiness units and formations with arms and military equipment.” The alert, according to the ITAR-TASS report, involves more than 80,000 troops, around a thousand tanks and armored personnel carriers, some 130 aircraft and 70 naval vessels.
This massive military alert is seen as a response to the disclosure Friday to CNN, by unnamed US officials, that the destruction of the Russian missiles in Syria was a result of Israeli airstrikes.
The United States government has previously indicated its desire to provide the rebels in Syria with weapons and other military assistance. Meanwhile, both the rebels and pro-government forces in Syria have obtained American weapons – likely via Iraq.
The Syrian army – aided by Iran and Lebanese-based Hezbollah, continues to make slow progress in rolling back rebel gains. FSA pockets of resistance in the city of Homs continue to struggle against a tightening siege by forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar-al-Assad. This latest suspected Israeli airstrike and Russian military alert signals a growing danger that the more than two-year-old Syrian conflict will escalate into a wider, regional conflict.
Graham J Noble
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WarSclerotic 
July 15, 2013 at 2:16 PM
Russian bluff,watch them get turned to dust Death to russia
July 15, 2013 at 2:37 PM
Yes, sure. Russian Army is in high alert since the 1917. They were in high alert in 1941, too. That didn’t saved them from the successful German invasion, Plan Barbarossa. They were in high alert here, in Syria, from the start of the party. Or didn’t they? And if so, how come that they never saw the ”Israeli attacks” coming? What kind of circus are they running there? Is that the famous former ”red army” or a bunch of cretins who one morning found themselves far from their homes and their vodka, only to be smashed between the Sunnis and the Shiites ? Go and ask Putin. He surely know.
July 15, 2013 at 2:50 PM
Russia has only one ideology today. Cold, hard cash. They make plenty out of their sales to Syria. Israel, by blowing up what they have already sold is simply increasing its future sales.
That Russia is uninterested in getting involved in a shooting war is to its credit, regardless of its motivations.
Does anyone anywhere actually believe this “alert’ is anything more than self serving noise?
July 15, 2013 at 2:57 PM
They make plenty out of their sales to Syria. Israel, by blowing up what they have already sold is simply increasing its future sales.
If there is a sharing of the profits it sounds like a deal.
July 15, 2013 at 2:59 PM
The destruction of that missile depot under the very nose of the Russians is causing them military humiliation and a great loss of face and prestige in the eyes of those they want to impress. No money in the world can buy back that kind of stuff. The Russians, this time, found themselves implicated in something way beyond there technical possibilities. And they are learning their lessons in the hard way.
July 15, 2013 at 3:19 PM
Humiliation? Hardly. They’ve stood by their word and delivered per their contract. They never promised they would defend Syria against Israel or anyone else for that matter.
While the US ties itself in knots trying to find moral justification for their support of any Arab regime, (good luck!) Russia doesn’t even claim to be pro Assad, merely fulfilling the terms of their contract.
Are they amoral? You bet. Are they hypocritical? Compared to the US they are Diogenes’ dream.
The US tries to sell its amoral foreign policy as being based on ethical, democratic principles. Right…
Even American citizens know how full of shit their government is. Why else would a majority of them support Snowden as a whistleblower while the US turns the world upside down trying to catch him.
Look over the actions of Russia and the US over the last decade. Is one really better than the other?
Fuck them BOTH !
July 15, 2013 at 3:02 PM
not quite jw,russias motive is the same as it has been since 1917,and ther goal is the same,the red army never was anything always was bluff,theirs no point in believing they wont respond they will,it will end in a even bigger humiliation for them,Russia is a limp dick,putin is delusional there is no ussr anymore,and a few more wrong steps will see russias total destruction which i cant wait for,80000 troops and 70 ships is pathetic junk yard army,they wont even get past the Bosporus,thats all putin can do blow wind
July 15, 2013 at 3:03 PM
The question is, “At what point has Israel crossed the ‘red line’ with Russia?” (pun intended).
July 15, 2013 at 3:08 PM
We will know when russia put peace keepers around the nuke installations of iran.
July 15, 2013 at 3:10 PM
Good point Joop. Let’s hope this never happens.
July 15, 2013 at 3:13 PM
Think gentile European mind-set. The Russian leadership is pissed off that they are being humiliated by a bunch of Jews. You know, the Jews that for a long time were used for punching bags whenever the Russians felt like it. Be on guard, they are not done.
July 15, 2013 at 3:38 PM
Nope russia has 3 options
1) defend there influence in the middle east
2) Retreat from the middle east
3) or accept the offer to play the same game as us.
I think to get the most out of no 3 they will rattle the drums a bit more but in the end they will play along us.
Option one is not possible for them in the long term ( and they know that )
option 2 is a slow disappearing from russia.loosing there influence
so option 3 is the most logical.
And that is what the usa and the eu are trying to accomplished.
Even if we have to offer Israel for it, we have done this shit before and we will do it again, on the scale of the world problems is Israel not so important other than be a useful tool.
O man if you know how i hate it to make this conclusion
July 15, 2013 at 3:53 PM
And than comes this.
https://warsclerotic.wordpress.com/2013/07/15/us-outraged-after-israel-backs-out-of-terror-suit/#comments