Moscow and Damascus deny the participation of Russian troops in military actions in Syria. But their number is reported to be growing rapidly.
A group of Russian military is getting a [defense] facility in order and protecting it, the Russian influential newspaper Kommersant reports with reference to a military expert who was sent to the Russian Navy’s sutainment centre in the Syrian port city of Tartus.
By the moment a number of these ‘guards’ has reached 1,700. At the beginning of the conflict, there were only a few people there.
According to the source, Russian soldiers serve there three months, then they fall under rotation.
Earlier, a number of media published the story of soldiers from the Russian city of Novorossiysk who were to have gone to Donbas, but were sent to Syria instead. As some refused to go and fight at someone else’s war, they may face a prison term.
At the same time, the Kremlin claims it is not privy to such information.
