Today marks the eighth anniversary of Russia’s intervention in the Syrian revolution. On September 30, 2015, Russia began its 8-year-long foray into the conflict as an ally of Assad. In those years it both perpetrated and abetted numerous war crimes and crimes against humanity and developed and honed the tactics that it would go on to employ against the people of Ukraine.
The Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) says that the Russian intervention in Syria seven years ago has killed 6.954 civilians, including 2,046 children and 978 women, and displaced 4.8 million Syrians. SNHR also documented no fewer than 1,246 attacks on vital civilian facilities; including 223 schools, 207 medical facilities, and 61 markets.
Russia has used its veto 17 times against the interests of the Syrian people in the political transition and in protecting the Assad regime, including four times before its direct military intervention in Syria and 13 times after its military intervention.
According to Syria Civil Defense, known also as the White Helmets, there have been 5,741 Russian attacks in 1,112 locations in Syria. Of those 5,286 were airstrikes, 319 used internationally banned cluster munitions on civilian centers and 130 attacks were with prohibited incendiary weapons.
