Overnight on 3 August, Syrian special forces conducted for the first time joint night maneuvers with the Russian air force in the western Hama governorate as they trained to target extremist enclaves.
"Syrian special units conducted, for the first time, in partnership with the Russian air and space forces, night maneuvers in Hama governorate," the Russian defense ministry announced via Telegram, adding that Su-24 and Su-35 fighter jets, Navy Ka-52 helicopters, and Syrian artillery formations took part in the drills.
The statement also said that the maneuvers included the deployment of Syrian paratroopers from an altitude of 1,500 to 3,000 meters from Russian Mi-8 helicopters.
The Kremlin has stepped up joint drills with the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) to confront US and Turkish-backed armed groups over the past several months. This level of cooperation has put Russia head to head with the US occupation army, which currently controls about a third of Syria with the help of multiple proxy militias.
Washington and Moscow have traded blame that the other side is “violating deconfliction protocols” and have warned of a possible confrontation, as Syria is the only country where Russia and the US have troops in an official capacity.
Furthermore, US planners have raised alarm about an alleged plan being hatched between Russia, Syria, and Iran to push US troops out of the war-torn country.
To prepare for this eventuality, the Pentagon has significantly reinforced its presence in bases inside occupied oil fields in northeast Syria, including with High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) and thermal surveillance cameras, while deploying multiple jet fighter squadrons to neighboring Jordan and the Persian Gulf. Moreover, the Pentagon has plans to deploy at least 2,500 extra troops to northern Syria to support Kurdish proxy militias.
On Wednesday, Vadim Kulit, deputy chief of the Russian Center for Reconciliation of the Opposing Parties in Syria, announced that fighter jets and drones belonging to the US-led coalition violated Syrian airspace in the southern Al-Tanf area 14 times over the preceding 24 hours.
Two days earlier, Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad called on the US government to withdraw its troops from Syria before being “forced” to do so.
"We keep telling the Americans who commit crimes [against the Syrian people] on a daily basis that this cannot continue. We say to the US Congress and everyone who supports this US aggression [against Syria], which reaches a level of war crimes and crimes against humanity that the Syrian people will not tolerate it indefinitely. We say it would be better for the US army to leave Syrian territories before it is forced out," Mekdad told reporters from the Iranian capital.