Russia says lost 112 servicemen in Syria in three yearsOctober 1, 2018 - 14:02 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Russia’s losses over the three years of its operation in Syria have amounted to 112 people, a senior Russian lawmaker said on Sunday, September 30, TASS reports. "As of today, the losses of our armed forces in Syria stand at 112 people, with the crashes of An-26 and Il-20 accounting for about a half of them," Viktor Bondarev, chairman of the defense and security committee of Russia’s Federation Council upper parliament house and former commander of Russia’s aerospace forces, told journalists. "Material losses include eight planes, seven helicopters and, probably, one or two armored personnel carriers and armored motorcars," he added. Bondarev recalled that in the first three years of the war in Afghanistan, almost 4,800 Soviet soldiers had been killed, "at least 60 tanks, at least 400 armored vehicles, 15 planes and 97 helicopters" had been lost. "Let us compare with the ‘progressive West’: over the three years of the war in Iraq (2003-2006) the US-led coalition lost 2,515 servicemen, including 2,309 Americans, ten to twenty Abrams ranks, several dozens of armored personnel carriers, at least 50 Bradley fighting vehicles, 15 planes and about 80 helicopters," he noted. "Russia’s counter-terrorist operation in Syria has demonstrated: we have learnt how to conduct warfare. As the major criterion of military prowess is not the very fact of victory but its price," he stressed. Top stories Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Moscow on April 22 to hold talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". Partner news | Get Started: An educational platform for young startuppers The Get Started program which operates in two phases is an important platform for young startuppers. Byblos Bank Armenia celebrates Students' Day with scholarship recipients YSU students who received scholarships from Byblos Bank Armenia gathered in a casual setting to meet with the Bank's CEO, Hayk Stepanyan. Azerbaijan extends Rune Vardanyan’s arrest by 5 months A court in Azerbaijan has extended the arrest of former Nagorno-Karabakh leader Ruben Vardanyan by five months. Armenia border residents dissatisfied with delimitation Residents Kirants are dissatisfied with the results of the delimitation of the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan. |