LIKE IN THAT SPANISH CIVIL WAR: Russia used Syria as live-fire training.

The US army’s commander in Europe has accused Russia of using its military campaign in Syria as a “live-fire training opportunity”.

Lt Gen Ben Hodges said Russia’s “disregard for civilian casualties… is not the conduct of a nation that wants to be treated like a superpower”.

Russia’s defence minister said on Thursday that its air force had killed 35,000 fighters in Syria.
But Russia has been accused of using heavy weapons in civilian areas.

The view from Moscow must look pretty good.

They have:

• Achieved the primary goal of taking the rebels’ last major stronghold

• Kept Assad safe in power

• Demonstrated the power of Russian arms and the utility of Russia’s friendship

• Humiliated the West/made political inroads against NATO’s southern flank (Turkey)

• All with an economy of force (making virtue out of logistical necessity)

By Putin’s cold logic, that’s probably worth almost any number of dead Syrian civilians.