"Russia Wants Out Of Syria Because It Can’t Afford To Fight" Topic

"Russia recently helped facilitate the surrender of Aleppo to its ally, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, but its motives may be financial, as opposed to virtuous.

Russia's intervention in Syria is estimated to cost approximately $4 USD million per day, according to data collected by IHS Jane's. Russian military forces began bombing Syrian targets around Sept. 30. Since the beginning of its relentless bombing campaign, Russia spent approximately $1.84 USD billion.

The total defense budget for 2016 of the Russian Federation was approximately $50 USD billion, meaning that the Kremlin spent an astonishing 3.6 percent a year on Syria alone. Though the percentage may seem relatively small, for Russia, it is unsustainable…."
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We Knot that fighting any war is always an expensive proposition … especially if you decide to use modern weapons as Russia is doing in Syria. And while Russia definitely has the resources and funds to continue its campaign in Syria, it will mean diverting money away from other priorities that Moscow maybe considers to be more important. But the biggest factor that is driving Moscow's desire to disengage from Syria is politics …. Russians go to the polls next year, and a minimal Russian presence in Syria will favour Putin when he faces the electorate…..

Amicalement
Armand

The Russians are withdrawing but they're still providing air support to the Turks in their "anti-ISIS" campaign that's also aimed at preventing the Kurds from establishing an independent state from the territories they've captured in northern Syria.

Where's the Turkish Air Force?

Why can't they provide their own air support?

Too many sorties patrolling the skies along the Greek border, or, are they an Air Force in being, like the Iranian one, and/or the old, WWII German Kriegsmarine naval force was?

Really shows you the economic difference between the US and Russia, if you consider the $$$ expenditure of the US in Iraq and Afghanistan

I see the American strategy is working as planned….

Turkish air force was gutted in the failed coup. Over half the fighter pilots have been sacked and a number of squadrons disbanded.

It always is about the $$$$.

And what is the Ukraine costing Russia?

Yes which is why we need to get China to build more and more stuff since once they build them they will need to maintain them.

I would think the burn rate through spares, engine wear etc. is a bigger problem than straight cash.
Many of the Russian military components were sourced from Eastern Ukraine, those plants were removed by the Russian military while the press were looking at empty white trucks.

Let Russia waste the treasure trying to fix the middle east-good luck with that Ivan.

Russians go to the polls next year, and a minimal Russian presence in Syria will favour Putin when he faces the electorate…

Like Putin could actually lose! When there's only one name on the ballot…

Putin is popular at home precisely because he's shown an uncanny ability to maximize Russia's foreign influence with limited resources. His coup in Syria, annexation of Crimea and rapprochement with Turkey are just recent examples.

Yea, why use up your own forces, when you can get someone else to fight your battles, and/or provide aircover for them for free, especially with those very, very, expensive, PGMs?

Putin is popular as he runs a police state that stifles dissent, shoots the opposition leader (Nemtsov) outside of the Kremlin and serves up a constant stream of propaganda via Russia Today.

Maybe the Russkies are leaving because they 'won', or at least their guy did.

Essentially Putin is popular because he doesn't bow to the US and its globalist political agenda. Russia and China strive to lead a bloc to counter the liberalist democratic world order of the US and western Europe. The sooner we accept that not all nations want to emulate America the shining beacon on the hill the better.

What Russia does inside it's own borders isn't my concern.

Ukraine wasn't a globalist agenda. It was a population making its' demands known to the elected government of the day. That government lost credibility when it started shooting protesters and quickly toppled. Russia then invaded and annexed Crimea and I have a problem with those sequence of events and Russia's role in them.

I also haev a problem when China decides to build islands in the South China Sea to claim territorial waters it does not have.

While I am aware of Russia and China's motives that doesn't mean I cannot oppose them and it doesn't mean the US cannot oppose them either.

Ukraine wasn't a globalist agenda.

Sure it is. The US spent tens of millions bankrolling the Maidan Revolution to break Ukraine from Russia's orbit. Kinda makes hacking look weak by comparison.

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Globalism has been the official US foreign policy for the past decade and a half:

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Agree with 28mm Fanatik on this issue. We are witnessing a slow-boiling clash to see if the USA is going to be the sole global corporatist-military hegemon or not, an ongoing struggle pursued by Washington for some time but which the American public generally seems oblivious to.

the American public generally seems oblivious to.

You could fill a football stadium or two or three with all the things the US public is oblivious to.

Smash the capitalist yoke Comrades.

Maybe they want out to shift forces to other geographic areas.

[qote]Though the percentage may seem relatively small, for Russia, it is unsustainable…

Wait a minute….isn't this the boogeyman that's poised to invade all of Europe? How can they possibly fight a conventional war through the Baltics, Poland, Sweden, etc… if they can't afford an air campaign over Syria? 'Russia is never as strong as she seems, nor is she ever as weak as she seems.'

And what is the Ukraine costing Russia?

Old stockpiles of artillery rounds + light infantrymen are comparatively cheap. In contrast, Syria features expensive, first-rate aviation platforms dropping dumb and precision-guided munitions. And cruise missiles. That stuff is expensive.