RUSLAN OSTASHKO—Do you remember the story with Gilad Shalit? He was a corporal of the Israel Defense Forces who on 25 June 2006, was captured by Hamas. To save their own soldier, the IDF started a military operation called “Summer Rains.” After the operation and other efforts did not succeed, after 5 years and 4 months, Israel exchanged Shalit for 1,027 Palestinian prisoners.
READ ONCategory: RUSSIA DESK
Russian response options to the latest Israeli provocation
THE SAKER—Over the past 24 hours the Internet, including this blog, have been flooded with opinion on what everybody and anybody would do if they were in Putin’s boots. Proposals range from declaring an no-fly zone over Syria to, I kid you not, send a couple of Russian SSBNs (subs which carry intercontinental ballistic missiles) off the coast of Israel. Furthermore, since Putin has failed, at least so far, to implement any retaliatory measures, the usual chorus of “Putin is a traitor” has been swamping my poor mods with sanguine expressions of disgust about Putin, Russia and yours truly :-)
READ ON
Il-20: No Apology From Tel-Aviv! – Special Reports From Syria and Israel
ALL CAPTIONS AND PULL QUOTES BY THE EDITORS NOT THE AUTHORS Comment here or on our Facebook Group page.
READ ON
Russian military plane with 14 on board disappears during Israeli strikes on Latakia
RT.COM—Air traffic controllers at the Khmeimim Air Base “lost contact” with the aircraft on Monday evening, during the attack of Israeli F-16 fighters on Latakia, said the MOD. The plane was 35 kilometers off the coast of Syria when it vanished. Russian radars also registered the launch of missiles from a French frigate in the Mediterranean on the evening of September 17. Fourteen people were on board the plane at the time of the disappearance. A search and rescue mission is underway. The Ilyushin 20 (IL-20) surveillance turboprop plane is an Electronic Intelligence (ELINT) platform, equipped with a wide range of antennas, infrared and optical sensors. The aircraft’s SLAR (Side-Looking Airborne Radar) and the plane’s satellite link allows the Russian military to monitor Syrian skies in real time.
READ ON