The Russian Air Force is currently conducting several flights over the Idlib and Aleppo governorates on Wednesday, March 20 afternoon, Al-Masdar News citing a military source in northwestern Syria as saying.

According to the source, the Russian Air Force was concentrated on the areas controlled by the militant group Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham in these parts of the Aleppo and Idlib governorates.

While the Russian aerial presence is heavy over northwestern Syria, they have yet to launch any attacks against Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham.

The Russian Air Force is likely conducting these flights to gather intel on the militants; this is something they have done on several occasions in the past.

Last week, the Russian Air Force redeployed their Su-25 jets to their Hmeimim Airbase in southwestern Latakia.

The redeployment of the Su-25 jets to the Hmeimim Airbase comes at the same time the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) builds up their forces around the Idlib and Hama fronts.