On February 05, the Information and Press Department of the Russian Foreign Ministry published a commentary expressing “outrage about anti-Russian propaganda in the Turkish media.”
We will separate the diplomatic verbal chaff actively used by the info warriors, such as “aggressive anti-Russian propaganda”, “unfounded accusations”, etc., and will try to give you the grain of facts:
1. Diplomats have categorically denied the use of any prohibited ammunition, especially emphasizing the “incendiary and cluster bombs.”
2. Officials are outraged at the assertions that the Russian military jets strike civilian targets.
3. The Foreign Ministry did not see any connection between the actions of the Russian air forces and the flux of the Syrian refugees to the border with Turkey.
4. The document does not mention ISIS, but found some other militants and mysterious “patriotic opposition forces”;
5. Accusation of genocide is staunchly denied.
All these claims have been repeatedly debunked by publications on the InformNapalm website. The volunteers of our international community have collected massive evidence of criminal acts of the Russian Federation, so we decided to respond to this diplomatic move, using the results of our own OSINT investigations and other public sources that would once again expose the lies of the Russian diplomats and the guilt of the top Kremlin officials.
Let us examine the points.
1. Diplomats have categorically denied the use of any prohibited ammunition, especially emphasizing the “incendiary and cluster bombs.”
The OSINT investigators of InformNapalm present here the evidence testifying that Russia supplied highly destructive ammunition to Syria:
1) thermobaric ammunition for TOS-1 and TOS-1A heavy flamethrower systems – link
2) “Solntsepyok” heavy flamethrower system (TOS) – link, link, video
The use of heavy weapons by the Russian troops in Syria was on numerous occasions recorded on photo and video and made public through media and social networks. Other evidence of the use of such weapons is the fragments of shells and unexploded ordnance.
The use of cluster bombs recorded on video at Tafas, Daraa, February 06, 2016 – Video
Cluster bombs were also documented by the Arab journalists on February 03, 2016: “The Russian media showed footage of military fighter jets deployed in raids on Syria and using rockets containing cluster bombs, which is a type of internationally prohibited weapons, especially against civilians” – link.
“A collection of photos, published in the Russian media, including the Sputnik agency and the Ministry of Defense website also show military aircraft carrying missiles with cluster bombs inside.”
In this photo, a tail of RBK-500 AO-2.5 RTM is visible. It is a single-use 500 kg cluster bomb charged with shrapnel bomblets. The same bomb and bomblets are visible in the video above.
The same RBK-500 AO-2.5RTM bomb installed on the hardpoint of a Russian bomber.
Photo for identification – the same bomb with the markings, link
Kremlin propagandists exposed combat jets of the Russian air forces at the Khmeimim airbase with RBK-500 single-use cluster bombs on their hardpoints – link, link
Russia deploying prohibited weapons in the province of Idlib – video, video, video
Unexploded RBK-500 cluster bomb with AO-2,5RTM bomblets found in Saraqeb, Idlib province, after a Russian air strike on January 23, 2016 – link, link
The Russian forces using white phosphorus bombs in the north-west Syria, Idlib province – link, video
Su-24 of the Russian airforce dropping a bomb over the city of Talbiseh. The belly and the nose of the aircraft are painted the same color – white. The Syrian Su-24 usually have a blue belly. January 30, 2016 – link
Thus, we have demonstrated the use of high-power munitions by the Russian air forces in Syria. So, where did they use them? Maybe on ISIS heavy equipment? Or for the destruction of ISIS infrastructure, such as pipelines, that would immediately undermine their power? Facts stubbornly tell a different story – the Russian pilots targeted civilian objects, which is confirmed by a variety of photo and video footage, reflected in the statistics, and eyewitness accounts from the scenes of the bombings.
2. Officials are outraged at the assertions that Russian military jets strike civilian targets.
Furkan Azeri, a Turkish journalist covering events in Syria and the Middle East for Timeturk, in an interview to InformNapalm, revealed a number of interesting facts and spoke about actual targets of the Russian troops fighting in Syria: “If you talk to any child in Syria, you would get a very straight explanation that Russia kills the people of Syria, not ISIS militants.”, “Russia gave nothing else to Syria’s population, but more chaos and more death.”, “Russia is only bombing the civilian population of Syria” – link
A White Helmets rescue worker Abdullah Al-Hafi says: “Since early November, the Russians began to bomb Ghouta in earnest. In Douma, Hammouria, Kafr Batna hundreds were killed by Russian air strikes. Russian cluster bombs reduced whole neighborhoods to rubble.
I will never forget the mass killing in Kafr Batna and Jisrin. And the massacre in Hammouria. And strikes on Douma.”
“In my ears there still are these sounds of death, I remember the smell of blood and torn human bodies”,”The Russians have a grisly tradition – they hit the same place twice. They wait until people gather at the scene after the first strike” – link
Dr. Hassan Alaaraj, Head of Healthcare Administration of the Helathcare Ministry of Free Syria in the province of Hama also argues against Russia: “The Russians make very destructive and highly targeted airstrikes. We, the doctors, saw the consequences of such strikes. In pretense of war on ISIS, Russia intervened in, no – invaded Syria”, “As the air strikes started, the Russians bombed a hospital in the North of the province Hama, in the village Latamniya. It happened because this hospital gave medical assistance to the local civilians. In this attack, five people were injured and one doctor died, among those who were inside the hospital. Two ambulances were destroyed as well. The hospital was attacked twice; it is completely destroyed by now. On October 28, 2015, the Russian airforce attacked a hospital in the city Kafr Zita. Two thirds of the hospital were demolished.” – link
Kafr Zita, Hama province. The hospital after the air strike
In front of the the UN building in Geneva, a street protest was held against the Russian soldiers killing innocent civilians and children in Syria. The killer pilots methodically bomb civilian targets in the territories, destroying their infrastructure, killing the Syrian citizens who opposed the criminal regime of Assad. According to the data collected by human rights organizations, the Russian air strikes killed more than 1,380 civilians, including 332 children. Pictures of these children were shown to the negotiators, the public and representatives of the media – link
The real targets of Russia in this war – after the bombing of Deir al-Asafir rescue workers pulling a miraculously surviving child from the rubble of an apartment house (January 2016) – video
On January 11, 2016, the Russian air forces hit a school in Anjarah in the Governorate of Aleppo. More than 20 casualties – link, link
The result of an attack of the Russian air forces on a school in Syria, 9 people killed – link, link
Another piece of documented evidence of the military crimes committed by the Russian air forces. Airstrike on Jisr al-Shughour, Idlib Governorate. 16 casualties, including 7 children – link, link
Aleppo, January 13, 2016, children hit again – video
The boy telling how his school in Anjar was bombed by the Russian air forces, thanking God for being alive. January 11, 2016 – video
City of Douma, December 13, 2015, a pediatrician’s clinic after a Russian air strike – video
Idlib City, after the bombing by the Russian airforce, October 01, 2015 – video
The consequences of an air strike on the city of Douma, January 10, 2016 – link, link
The consequences of air strikes on the city of Kafr Hamrah, Governorate of Aleppo, December 14, 2015 – link
The consequences of an air strike on the city of Anadan, February 07, 2016 – link
On February 06, 2016 in the city of Aleppo, Russian pilots killed a 10-year-old girl – link
On February 4, the city of Hraytan, Governorate of Aleppo, three people were killed, including a child – link
On February 4, at least six victims of an air strike by the Russian airforce on Tareeq Al-Bab – link
On February 4, six casualties caused by Russia – link
On February 3, the city of Hraytan, Governorate of Aleppo, three people were killed, including a woman – link
Similar data on murdering of children were presented in the article “It’s official – the Russian military are killers of the Syrian children” – link
According to casualty statistics for January 2016, Russia committed the most civilian murders in the war in Syria – link
3. The Foreign Ministry did not see any connection between the actions of the Russian airforce and the flux of Syrian refugees to the border with Turkey.
The connection between the airstrikes of the Russian air forces on towns and villages of Syria, and the tides of refugees has been observed by us more than once – link, link, link, link, link. But here we need to give credit to the Kremlin diplomats, the apparent increase in the number of refugees is not the only objective, in this way Russia helps the Assad’s regime and puts pressure on the opposition forces, blackmailing them with bombing the cities where the families of the regime opponents live.
Journalists working in the region also speak of this – video
4. The document does not mention ISIS, but found some other militants and mysterious “patriotic opposition forces”;
Quite a few brows were raised at an unexpected replacement of the commonly known term “ISIS” denoting the terrorists in Syria with some mysterious fighters of “patriotic” opposition forces” coined by Russian diplomats. Apparently, it is getting ever more difficult for the Kremlin to lie about “bombing ISIS”.
5. Accusation of genocide is staunchly denied.
The destruction of Syria’s population through the use of high-power weapons on towns and villages, causing the displacement of large numbers of people, depriving them of their homes and property, forcing them to wander inside the country and flee abroad – is it not the genocide of the Syrian people? Russia is also contributing to the organized hunger in the blockaded towns and villages by giving aerial fire support to Assad’s troops.
Russia has occupied a part of Syria and is involved in the genocide of the Syrian people, using prohibited ammunitions with great destructive power on civilian targets. Pretending to fight ISIS, the Russian Federation is committing cynical and heinous war crimes, causing refugee floods and disturbing the balance of forces in this region.
In addition to all the above, the InformNapalm international volunteer community held a three-day Twitter polling involving more than 2,500 respondents, and reaching up to an overall audience of more than 40,000 people. About 96% of the respondents expressed the view that the action of the Russian air forces in Syria could be clearly regarded as war crimes, and only 3% voted against.
Thus, the rhetoric of the Russian propagandists and demarches of the Russian diplomats do not stand up to scrutiny. For its part, the international volunteer community InformNapalm is making every effort to ensure that war crimes of the Russian Federation and Russian officers and soldiers are made broadly public. InformNapalm is currently preparing another list of the Russian airforce officers who took part in the bombing of the Syrian people. The new infographics will feature more than 30 military men identified through OSINT. We hope that our data would feature on the case file of the future military tribunal investigation against the Kremlin regime.
Compiled specially for InformNapalm.
We thank Катерине Яресько for gathering and analyzing the information.
We thank Dmitry K for identifying the weapons and equipment.
Translated by Artem Velichko
Read the latest book “Donbas in Flames. Guide to the Conflict Zone” published by Prometheus Center. This guide will be useful to journalists, researchers, war experts, diplomats and general readers seeking information on the war in Donbas.
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