President Putin claims to know who attacked Russian base in Syria

Russian President Vladimir Putin. Photo: Reuters

According toRT,Russian President Putin spoke for the first time yesterday, January 11, about the simultaneous drone attacks on two Russian military bases in Syria on the night of January 6.

Speaking to the editors of several Russian media outlets, President Putin said: “First of all, these are provocations aimed at disrupting previous agreements. Second, they are aimed at our relations with our partners Türkiye and Iran. It is an attempt to destroy these relations. We understand each other very well and will act in coordination.”

“There were provocateurs there, but they were not Turks, and we know them. We know who they are and how much they spent on these provocations,” the Kremlin chief added. However, President Putin did not specify which organization was behind the attacks on Russian bases.

According to Mr. Putin, the attack on the Hmeimim and Tartus bases was "very carefully prepared." "We know when and from where those drones were delivered and how many there were. I want to emphasize that those drones were disguised to look like handmade products. But in fact, its parts are clearly of high-tech origin."

The comments came after a statement from the Russian Defense Ministry said that on the night of January 6, 13 drones simultaneously attacked Russia’s Hmeimim air base and Tartus naval base in Syria. Russian forces quickly shot down 7 drones, while the remaining 6 were controlled.

This is the first time terrorists have used modern drone technology to attack a Russian military base in Syria.

The attack occurred just about a week after the Hmeimim base was attacked by mortars on December 31, killing two Russian soldiers. These can be considered the two strongest attacks on Russian forces in Syria since Moscow began its anti-terrorist campaign in this Middle Eastern country.

Speculation has been rife as to who was responsible for the attacks, with attention shifting to Syrian rebels, US-backed forces, sects linked to the Syrian president, Iran and Turkey.

However, before meeting with the media yesterday, President Putin had a phone call with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan to discuss the incident. During the call, the two leaders agreed to continue to strengthen cooperation efforts in the fight against terrorism in Syria.