Russia Warns United States After Downing of Syrian Combat Aircraft

On Sunday, June 18, the United States downed a Syrian warplane in the southern part of the Raqqa province.  The United States claimed that the warplane dropped bombs near U.S.-backed resistance forces, while the Syrian government said that the warplane was on a mission to combat Islamic State forces.  According to a Syrian army statement, “Syrian state television said the plane crashed and the pilot was missing in the first such downing of a Syrian jet by the United States since the start of the conflict in 2011.”

As a result, Russia has warned the United States, condemning its action of downing the Syrian aircraft.  Having had tensions with the United States in the past, Russia seems to have heightened such frictions by threatening to target United States’ aircraft and those of allies flying west of the Euphrates River.  The Russian government has also reported that their use of the hotline between the American and Russian militaries to coordinate flights in Syrian airspace has been abandoned.

This downing of the Syrian aircraft was the first time that the United States engaged in aerial combat since the civil war broke out in 2011.  Not only was the attack commanded due to the dropping of bombs on U.S.-backed forces by the SU-22 jet, but also because of punishment that the United States wished to inflict on the Syrian government.  Syria initiated a nerve gas attack that killed civilians in April, and the Pentagon was not going to let that go unanswered.

            It is reported that, “The latest escalation comes as competing forces converge on ungoverned swaths of Syria amid the country’s six-year civil war.  Syrian forces and Iranian-backed militias that support them are extending their reach east closer to American-backed fighters, including forces that the Pentagon hopes will pursue the militants into the Euphrates River valley after they take the Islamic State’s self-declared capital of Raqqa.  The collision of the disparate forces has, in effect, created a war within a war.”

White House press secretary Sean Spicer notes that, “The escalation of hostilities among the many factions that are operating in this region don’t help anybody.”  Syria, being an already chaotic place due to the civil war, is only driven into further turmoil with rivaling factions.  President Trump states that he has allowed military commanders to have more influence in conducting special operations against the Islamic State, urging such forces to “annihilate” the respecting group.

Russia’s warning could in fact be false, as such warnings in the past were not followed through.  The Russian military has said that they have abandoned the American-Russian hotline in the past, particularly after President Trump ordered the missile launch in April, but have consequently increased communications following the event.  Russia’s warning is not to be taken lightly though, as the chaos in Syria may consequently pull unwanted triggers.

Featured Image via President of Russia