Russian special forces in the Syrian desert. The heirs of the special forces: what are the tasks facing the Russian Special Operations Forces in Syria

Reading 2 min. Views 27 Published on 21.09.2017

Syria, news September 12, 2017. Fighters of the Forces special operations The Russian Federation, as part of a special detachment of deblocking, destroyed militants of the terrorist group Jabhat al-Nusra, banned in Russia, who surrounded a platoon of the Russian military police near Hama in Syria on September 19.

After a massive offensive by militants in the Idlib de-escalation area near Hama and the encirclement of a Russian military police platoon, a special squad to release the besieged military personnel, which included MTR fighters and aviation of the Russian Aerospace Forces.

Before help arrived, the encircled military police fought off the numerically superior enemy for several hours, three were injured. Detachment Russian special forces terrorists and fight to get out of the encirclement. Three servicemen of the Special Operations Forces were injured.

Video of the combat operation of the Mi-35 helicopters of the Russian Aerospace Forces in the battle near Hama, where on September 19 a group of deblocking Russian military personnel came to the aid of a Russian military police detachment that was surrounded.

The footage shows how helicopters are being transferred to the combat area of ​​the Special Operations Forces soldiers. Also, guided missiles strike terrorist positions.

Syrian units launched a counteroffensive and almost completely restored the lost position. According to the Ministry of Defense, the Al-Nusra offensive was.

Syria: video clashes between SOF fighters and terrorists near Hama. Footage has emerged showing how, during an operation to break through the encirclement of militants, a Russian deblocking unit strikes at Jabhat al-Nusra terrorists.

From the very beginning of the anti-terrorist operation in Syria, units of the Russian Special Operations Forces have been performing tasks of particular importance in the deep rear of terrorists, according to the Russian Ministry of Defense. Their highest tactical and special training, excellent knowledge of local customs and Syrian dialects, as well as a unique modern weapons allow covert operations throughout Syria and destroy terrorists in any situation. One of the main tasks assigned to the SOF servicemen is to carry out reconnaissance and search operations to detect camouflaged command posts, concentrations of manpower and equipment of terrorists. coordinates of the terrorists, MTR officers using the Intelligence, Control and Communications Complex (KRUS) transmit this data in real time to the aircraft of the Russian Aerospace Forces on duty in the sky. In a matter of minutes, Russian Su-24 bombers and the latest Su-34 strikes, hitting targets on the ground even ordinary aviation munitions with 100% accuracy. Small groups of terrorists in cars, as well as identified single armored vehicles and pickups of militants at the coordinates indicated by the SOF, are destroyed. Units of the Russian Special Operations Forces control the effectiveness of strikes on the spot and, if necessary, transmit new data for aviation or independently destroy the remnants of terrorists. During clashes with the enemy, SOF officers successfully repel counterattacks by terrorists, who often outnumber them by many orders of magnitude. By competent actions in defense, the military personnel of the Special Operations Forces do not leave any chance for terrorists even if they use suicide bombers on cars and armored vehicles filled with explosives. Modern Russian anti-tank weaponry sets destroy any terrorist equipment by MTR groups even at the distant approaches to their positions, excluding losses among Russian military personnel Russian aviation in Syria, despite the fact that it has many times fewer aircraft in the Middle East region, carried out 3 times more sorties and delivered 4 times more missile and bomb strikes. In the course of carrying out combat missions to destroy terrorists, Russian attack helicopters Mi-28 " Night Hunter"and Ka-52" Alligator ". More than 80 percent of the flight crew of the Russian Aerospace Forces received combat experience. Thanks to Russian aviation, Syrian troops liberated 705 settlements and more than 17 thousand square meters. kilometers of its territory.

Reading 7 min. Views 21 Published on 07.03.2017

Western media: Assad's army wins thanks to the effective actions of the Russian special forces.

Colonel General Alexander Dvornikov, who commanded the Russian military group in Syria, admitted back in September 2015 that special forces were fighting in Syria:

“I will not hide the fact that units of our Special Operations Forces are also operating in Syria. They carry out additional reconnaissance of objects for Russian air strikes, are engaged in guiding aircraft to targets in remote areas, and solve other special tasks.

The first military transport aircraft with groups of Special Operations Forces (SOF) landed at the Khmeimim airbase back in September last year.

Soldiers of Russian special forces, for example, took part in the rescue of the crew of a Russian Su-24 front-line bomber shot down on the Syrian-Turkish border on November 24 last year by an F-16 fighter of the Turkish Air Force. Five Mi-8 helicopters took part in the rescue operation, each carrying 7-8 fighters marines and special forces of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Defense (the former name is the GRU special forces), now these units are called the Special Operations Forces (SOF).

Another major operation of the MTR fighters in Syria is the unblocking of the Qwayres airbase in the province of Aleppo.

As early as October 22 last year, advanced units of the Syrian army with heavy fighting reached the air base at a distance of 5-6 kilometers and got stuck at this turn for several weeks. The main problem for the armored vehicles of the Syrian army was mobile units of militants armed with anti-tank systems.

Aviation of the Russian Aerospace Forces and artillery struck at the positions of the militants, but this did not help much: as soon as the Syrian tanks left their positions, they were met with aimed fire by BGM-71 TOW ATGM gunners. On the outskirts of the Kwayres air base, the Syrian army lost several dozen tanks and armored personnel carriers.

It was then that it was decided to use sabotage and reconnaissance groups.

According to our information, the Russian special forces near Kvayres carried out three night raids, during which several dozen terrorist anti-tank systems were eliminated. And after such a "cleansing" the Syrian army unblocked the airbase.

In November 2015, it was decided to reinforce the units of the 104th brigade of the Republican Guard of the Syrian army with Russian special forces.

The soldiers of the special operations forces of the Russian Armed Forces are still fighting in Syria today, thanks to which they managed to close the corridor of militants in Aleppo.

In the article Did Russian special forces help the Syrian army win Aleppo, The Duran tabloid claims that it was only thanks to the participation of Russian special forces in the battles in Aleppo that it was possible to take “the territory of the Aleppo artillery base”, and led to the elimination of a narrow corridor pierced by militants on August 5 -jihadists in the line of encirclement of the quarters of western Aleppo controlled by them.

– Judging by the photographs, the Russian special forces are fully equipped and armed, which suggests that they recently took part in an attempt to recapture the “Aleppo artillery base”. If the Russian special forces really took part in the assault on the base, this may explain such a quick capture of the object, which had previously been fought over for several weeks.

Russia has repeatedly denied suggestions that its troops are involved in any ground military operations in Syria, and if its special forces were indeed involved in the liberation of the “Aleppo artillery base”, then Russian statements are contrary to reality.

However, it has long been accepted international practice to treat special forces separately from other soldiers, so that the refutation of allegations of the country's involvement in ground combat does not apply to them. A good example is the recently confirmed presence of British special forces in Syria, while the British government recent months also repeatedly denied the fact of sending ground military units to Syria.

The Russian military a few days ago did indeed deploy not big number elite marines in Aleppo (according to various estimates from 80 to 120 people), presumably to participate in humanitarian operations in the area. Perhaps it was this mission that was used as an excuse for the deployment of special forces, which were filmed by the photographer at the “Aleppo artillery base”, and which participated in its liberation.

- If Russian troops special forces took part in combat operations to liberate this object, this decision almost certainly should have received sanction at the highest level during one of the many meetings Russian Council Security, which took place in August. Most likely, we can talk about an unscheduled meeting that took place on August 8, 2016, three days after the jihadists stormed the "Aleppo artillery base", on the eve of Putin's trip to Baku to meet with the leaders of Azerbaijan and Iran. However, whenever this decision was made, President Putin undoubtedly had something to do with it.

– Even if in the end it is confirmed that Russian special forces took part in the liberation of the object in Aleppo, here it is necessary to observe a sense of proportion. Although it is in fact perfectly trained elite troops They are not supermen though. If they number 80-120 people, as the report claims, they clearly could not seize the entire vast territory of the base in the face of resistance from hundreds, and possibly thousands of jihadist fighters.

“They could have been only a small part of the Syrian troops involved in her liberation. Although the Russian special forces may have taken part in some elements of the military operation, they were most likely assigned the functions of command, control and supervision, with the aim of assisting the Syrian troops directly liberating the base.

According to CNA analyst Michael Kofman, who specializes in military operations Russian army, there are currently two main Russian forces operating in Syria special purpose- "Barrier" and KSO (Special Operations Forces).

– The fact that Russian troops are taking part in ground operations in the Syrian war has long been known.

- So, as part of the troops that were recently recaptured from " Islamic State» Palmyra, there were parts of the Syrian and Iranian army, as well as Hezbollah armed formations. Also, as stated Russian authorities, the victory was achieved thanks to another unit - the Russian elite special forces detachment, also known as special forces.

Russian special forces have become one of the central themes of Russian news coverage of the war in Syria, as the battle for Palmyra directly fits into the anti-ISIS rhetoric that Russia initially used to justify the intervention, says Institute of the Study of War research analyst (Institute of the Study of War ) Chris Kozak.

- The participation of Russian special forces in the battles for Palmyra "looks great," said Kozak.

Special unit The Russian Foreign Intelligence Service "Zaslon" is a top-secret special unit designed to respond forcefully and provide protection in especially dangerous areas. CSO is an analogue of the US Joint Special Operations Command and was created in last years.

“Russian special forces are doing a lot of work in directing and coordinating Russian air strikes against ground targets, in addition, Russian military advisers are doing a lot of work in the Syrian army,” says Kofman. At the same time, he added that these units are engaged in collecting the bulk of intelligence information and identifying the most important terrorist targets in order to support operations conducted by Russian aviation and the Syrian army.

Unlike most U.S. Special Forces units (who currently instruct the Iraqi and Syrian military at the battalion and brigade level from behind the lines), Russian special forces participate in combat operations on the side of the Syrian army, providing operational and tactical support.

- The presence of Russian special forces and military advisers on the front line, in turn, contributed to the fact that Syrian government forces and allies of President Bashar al-Assad entrenched themselves on the occupied lines and recaptured territories in different parts country. According to Kofman, Russian ground units - despite the hype surrounding the sending of a Russian air group into the country - are the link that helps the Syrian army to fight and demonstrate a much higher combat capability.

“Actually, it is quite difficult to change the situation so much without a large number of planes - even though they made a large number of sorties, it was the effective actions of the Russian Spenaz that turned the tide of the war in Syria, ”Kofman notes.

Earlier, the Russian Ministry of Defense killed Artem Gorbunov in the Palmyra region. Regarding the death of a resident Chelyabinsk region Ivan Slyshkin, who, according to media reports, was, the Ministry of Defense reported that "according to credentials,<…>he really passed military service in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, after which in 2013 he was duly transferred to the reserve. On the this moment The Ministry of Defense has officially recognized the death of 27 Russian servicemen in Syria.

They didn't draw much attention to themselves. On Victory Day, the streets of the capital are traditionally crowded with people military uniform at awards. Clean-shaven faces, clean, open eyes, a free springy gait... They approached the monument to the heroes of the film "Officers" before National Center defense, put flowers and took "under the visor", giving military salute bronze prototypes of the heroes of the past. A group of young people, having waited for their turn, joyfully clung to the monument and arranged a memorable photo shoot. If they knew that two steps away from the movie officers are the real living heroes of the present time, they definitely wouldn’t let them leave without a selfie. It is about people like these two lieutenant colonels and two captains Vladimir Putin said at the Victory Parade:

“We feel a blood, piercing kinship with the generation of heroes and winners. And addressing them, I will say: you will never be ashamed of us. Russian, Russian soldier and today, as at all times, showing courage and heroism, he is ready for any feat. There are such warriors here today, in parade crews on Moscow's Red Square. The country is proud of you!”

Unfortunately, it is not always possible to name full names these heroes. Yes, and they probably would have refused a selfie. Daniil, Evgeniy, Roman and Vyacheslav are officers of the Special Operations Forces (SOF), the elite of the Russian armed forces. Recently, the President signed a Decree on awarding them with high state awards. Lieutenant Colonel Daniel as a group commander was awarded the title Hero of Russia.

I have always been struck by the modesty with which real heroes talk about their exploits. Nothing special, just work.

"HAVE WORKED GREATLY"

It was a standard day, a routine, - Daniel shrugs.

There was information that in one of the districts of the province of Aleppo in Syria, attacks by Jebhan al-Nusra militants (a terrorist organization banned in the Russian Federation - ed.) on the defensive positions of government forces have become more frequent, - recalls Lieutenant Colonel Yevgeny. - We received the task to advance to that area in order to conduct reconnaissance, to identify places of concentration of terrorists, equipment for guiding our aircraft. Settled in and started working.

A group of Russian special forces of 16 people, located not far from the front line, calculated the buildings in which the enemy settled, strong points, armored vehicles, ammunition depots, and movement routes. The fighters promptly transmitted all the information with the coordinates to the headquarters and corrected the air strikes. With the help of aviation, three tanks were destroyed, one battery of MLRS (multiple launch rocket system - Auth.), Improvised launchers, two warehouses of terrorists.

In general, they worked fruitfully, - Eugene smiles. - But one fine morning, everything sharply worsened. A massive shelling of our positions began. The Grad installations, mortars, artillery, tank shelling were used.

FIGHTED 4 ATTACKS. I HAD TO RUN

The Syrian troops withdrew due to the confusion between the units. Lieutenant Colonel Daniel decides to stay at the forefront.

The drone found a shahid mobile (a car filled with explosives, driven by a suicide bomber - ed.) moving towards our positions, he says. - But our experienced birdmen worked on time. The car bomb exploded before reaching us.

Anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs - Auth.) Her commander, Captain Roman, explains the specifics of the Syrian work.

To make it clear, a bulldozer was walking in front of the shahid-mobile, sheathed with three or four layers of steel sheets, between which sand was poured. A hit from an RPG-7 does not do much harm to such a machine. And behind him is a car stuffed with explosives. As a rule, this is the BMP-1. We took a position on the right flank, the operator of the Kornet ATGM from the first missile hit the BMP. The explosion was so strong that even the bulldozer ahead went out of order! After that, I had to immediately change position. The enemy had a large number of ATGMs (anti-tank missile systems, - ed.) mainly of foreign production. After our shots for 30-40 seconds, a rocket flew in from the other side. I had to run. Over the next hour and a half, we managed to destroy a tank that was working from a nearby high-rise in our group. We must pay tribute, the comrades there are not quite simple. They didn't stay in one position for long. To hit the tank, I had to sweat. And in the evening they destroyed more anti-aircraft installation Zu-23 in a car. Special thanks to our Kornet complex, which in Once again showed himself from the best side.

During daylight hours, a small group of Russian Special Operations Forces successfully repelled four terrorist attacks. At the same time, according to the most conservative estimates, there were about 300 people advancing.

Moreover, these were highly trained people, - Lieutenant Colonel Daniel is sure. - Later, during the inspection, it turned out that the terrorists were very well equipped. Imported form, go-pro cameras on their heads, medicine is very expensive. There were also black mercenaries. In general, according to experience, local Syrians do not have enough money for this. Yes, and on the field they behaved in such a way that serious preparation was visible. And weapons, in addition to Soviet and Chinese, are American and Israeli.

With the onset of darkness, the group commander decides to mine the approaches to their positions. Armed with night vision devices and thermal imaging equipment, sappers under the cover of snipers advanced 500 meters from the front line. Towards the enemy. Barrage of anti-tank and anti-personnel mines Captain Vyacheslav's subgroup installed in a controlled version. And it turned out - not in vain.

"ON ANOTHER IT IS IMPOSSIBLE"

It dawned a little, the attacks of the militants continued, the second, third wave began, - Vyacheslav says somehow casually. - We consistently undermined the barriers, destroying several units of armored vehicles and personnel.

It is almost impossible to calculate exactly how many militants were killed. According to our commandos, at night the terrorists are trying to carry their dead from the battlefield. But only on the approaches to the shelters of the MTR soldiers were found about 30 corpses. The special forces held out in positions for more than a day when government forces approached. The terrorists were not in the mood to attack further. The Russians handed over their lines to the Syrians and retreated to their original position without loss.

Did you make a conscious decision to take the fight or was it spontaneous? I asked the group leader.

We already know their psychology, we know that they cannot attack for a long time, - says Lieutenant Colonel Daniil. - We were confident in our abilities, the terrain allows us to keep the defense. It is much more difficult to attack, so they were in a losing situation.

What if you left?

The militants would occupy the dominant heights, it would take weeks to retake these positions again. Plus, the losses of the Syrian army would be much higher.

In those conditions, it was the only solution, - Evgeny is sure. - There was no other way to do it.