Did Russian forces in Syria fire on Israeli warplanes?
Several Israeli media outlets said that Russian forces in Syria have fired at least twice on Israeli military aircraft in the last weeks.
Although no specific dates or locations for the incidents were given, it looks like these close encounters occurred as Israeli Air Force jets hit Syria to prevent suspected arms handovers to Hezbollah.
According to Reuters, Israel’s Channel 10 TV said a Russian jet approached an Israeli warplane off the Mediterranean coast of Syria last week even though there was no contact between them.
Probably referring to the same episode, Debkafile reported of a “near clash” between four IAF F-15s and two Russian Su-30SMs on Apr. 20: flying over the Med, the Israeli jets approached Hmeymim airbase, near Latakia, in northwestern Syria, where the Russian Air Force contingent is headquartered, forcing the Russians to scramble two of their Sukhoi jets.
As of yet, the Kremlin has denied that Russian forces in Syria fired at Israeli military aircraft. It’s still not clear whether the “near clash” has occurred.
Image credit: Russian MoD
