Nearly a year Russian Federation are fighting in Syria, and during that time she has achieved a resounding success, and only marking time, trying to betray her obscure campaign epic the values and sacred meanings. And since the conflict the country has transformed from a short and victorious operation in a quagmire like Afghanistan. And common with each passing day it becomes more and more…
Loss
According to official data, currently the Russian army in Syria has lost 19 soldiers. For the first full year of the war in Afghanistan, the Soviet army officially lost 1670 soldiers. The expected exclamations, as so, the difference is 87 times what the same? But…
First, Russia has never covered its losses fairly and impartially – they are always underestimated and not recognized. Only when the fact of death of the soldier are obvious – it is recognized. Therefore, only 19 of the victims is naive and stupid!
Secondly, the SA contingent in Afghanistan at different times ranged from 50 thousand to 80 thousand or more. In Syria, the Russian military currently in the area of 5,000 people.
Thirdly, Russia mainly provides support Assad’s troops with air and artillery fire, and infantry involved in the fighting much less than it was in Afghanistan.
Considering all these factors, loss though different at first sight in 87 times, but agree – the nature of warfare and the quantitative findings of the contingent are quite different with almost the same elements of secrecy and lies in the official statistics.
Financial costs
According to official data, the content of the 40th army in Afghanistan, as well as full-scale combat operations cost budget of the Union in the amount of from 3 to 8.2 billion US dollars annually. Russia during this year was expended on the maintenance of its troops and conduct combat operations from 2.5 to 5 (or more) million dollars a day that the average will be 1.5 billion dollars a year.
But, do not forget that the 40th army of the Soviet Union – a contingent of more than 50 thousand people, and since 1979, inflation has not stood still. Therefore, even with the data almost forty years ago, Russia is on its contingent spends no less, and to some extent even more than the Soviet Union on its military in Afghanistan.
War without prospects
As well as in Afghanistan, the Soviet Union, Russia in Syria to protect its geopolitical interests, but the protection of it comes amid a mediocre campaign. Because the results of the outgoing year for the armed forces in a distant, hot, but such a sacred for every Russian the country is quite bleak and mediocre.
Judge for yourself for the year of the fighting a large part of Syrian territory remains beyond the control of the Assad regime. Offensive in Raqqa, which was widely publicised in the Russian media – choked and failed. Released PAL is now in the actual environment of the rebels. As far as Aleppo, after the city was taken in a favorite Russian patriots “pot”, it almost immediately deblocked joint efforts of the opposition group Jabhat Fatah al-sham”.
Now does suggest the opposition to tighten asaditov and the Russians in the battle for Aleppo for longer than that, or rather before the U.S. election, when will come a new administration and possibly changing the format to support the Syrian resistance. In principle, as it eventually happened in Afghanistan when the outbreak proceeds “Stingers” have changed the balance of power in favor of Soviet aviation.
In fact, Aleppo is now called as the new Grozny and Stalingrad. After all, if to speak about the terrible format, the city can simply be wiped off the face of the earth, carpet bombing, and in the case of Stalingrad – will become asaditov and Russians the meat grinder for months.
Russia is mired in the Syrian war, like the Soviet Union in Afghanistan, when taking a meter ahead, then lost a hectare behind. Russia also hides losses among its troops and carries significant financial costs. And most importantly – the successes-the failures of Russia in this country, including in the foreseeable future, depend almost exclusively on the U.S. position.
Well, what is not Afghanistan 2.0 – year one?
