Russia shoots down two drones near Hmeimim base in Syria

July 21 (EUROPA PRESS) –

The Russian Ministry of Defense announced on Wednesday night that its anti-aircraft defenses shot down two drones allegedly launched by rebel militias in the area near the Hmeimim military base, located in western Syria.

A spokesman for the Russian forces in Syria has indicated that “Russian air defense systems have destroyed two unmanned aerial devices used by militiamen at a distance of two kilometers from the base.” “There were no victims or material damage,” he added.

“The Hmeimim base is working as planned,” he stressed, before detailing that the drones were detected around 10:10 p.m. (local time) on Wednesday, as reported by the Russian news agency Interfax.

Finally, he denounced that “illegal armed formations in the de-escalation zone in Idlib continue to try to carry out attacks against the Russian base in Hmeimim using drones.”

Russia is one of the main international supporters of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and its military intervention in 2015 allowed government forces to repel rebel advances and regain the initiative on the battlefield.