Russia says its air strikes in Syria have killed 35,000 rebels
MOSCOW - Russian air strikes in Syria have killed 35,000 rebel fighters and succeeded in halting a chain of revolutions in the Middle East, Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Thursday.
Speaking at a gathering of top military officials that appeared designed to showcase Russia's military achievements, Shoigu said Moscow's intervention had prevented the collapse of the Syrian state.
"We are now stronger than any potential aggressor," President Vladimir Putin said at the same event at the Defence Ministry in Moscow.
Shoigu said Russian aircraft had flown 18,800 sorties in Syria since the start of the Kremlin's operation there last year, destroying 775 training camps, 405 sites where weapons were being made and killing 35,000 fighters.
