RIA Novosti / Reuters
- Russia has ratcheted up military tensions in Syria by announcing it would send the advanced S-300 missile
defense system to Syria, and the US military had a savage response. - A spokesman for the Pentagon's CENTCOM said Russia "should move humanitarian aid into Syria, not more weaponry."
- Russia stands accused of bombing humanitarian aid convoys on their way into besieged Syrian towns.
Russia has ratcheted up military tensions in Syria by announcing it would send the advanced S-300 missile defense system to Syria, and the US military had a savage response.
Asked for comment on the announced movement of the missile defense batteries to Syria, Maj. Josh T. Jacques of the US Military's Central Command, which covers the Middle East, said Russia "should move humanitarian aid into Syria, not more weaponry."
Another Pentagon official similarly had words for Russia, responding to Russian claims that Soviet-era Syrian defenses blocked 83 missiles from a US-led strike earlier this month.
"This is another example of the Russian disinformation campaign to distract attention from their moral complicity to the Assad regime's atrocities," Pentagon spokesman Eric Pahon told Business Insider, referring to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Russia stands accused by international observers of bombing humanitarian aid convoys on their way into besieged Syrian towns and stifling efforts to ease suffering in the country while they support Assad and allegedly cover him while he conducts chemical warfare against his own citizens.
Experts tell Business Insider that the S-300 likely could not stop another US strike like the one on April 14, where 105 missiles hit three suspected chemical weapons sites in the country. Russia claims its defenses can down "any" US missile.
Syria has been mired in a brutal civil war since March 2011. Russia, Syria's ally, has provided air support and training for Assad's military since late 2015, during which time it has been linked to several war crimes involving the death of civilians.