Russia’s losses in the three years of its Syrian campaign have exceeded 100 people, according to Viktor Bondarev, the ex-commander of the Aerospace Forces and chairman of the Defense and Security Committee in the Federation Council.
“At this point our military losses in Syria have amounted to 112 personnel, nearly half of them are from the An-26 crash and the downed Il-20. As for equipment, we lost eight planes, seven helicopters, possibly one or two BTRs [armored personnel carriers] and armored vehicles,” Bondarev was quoted by his press service as saying on September 30 on the third anniversary of the start of the Russian campaign in Syria.
For comparison: during the first three years in Afghanistan the Soviet army lost almost 4,800 troops, at least 60 tanks, 400 BTRs, infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) and armored reconnaissance vehicles, 15 planes and 97 helicopters, the senator said.
“And now let’s see how it compares with ‘progressive West:’ in the first three years of the war in Iraq (2003-2006) the U.S. coalition lost 2,515 troops, including 2,309 Americans, ten to 20 Abrams tanks, several dozen APCs and at least 50 Bradley IFVs, 15 planes and around 80 helicopters,” Bondarev said.
In his view, the Russian counterterrorist operation in Syria has proved that “we have learned to fight.”
“Because the most important criterion of military mastery is not only the mere fact of winning but also its price,” Bondarev said.
