DISINFO: There are no Russian ground troops in Syria
SUMMARY
The Russian army has never sent any ground troops, and hence no special units to Syria. The article by Reuters about alleged involvement of Russian ground forces and special units in the province of Idlib is an absolute lie. Only observation troops of the Russian military police are positioned in Idlib.
RESPONSE
Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative claiming that Russian ground troops are not active in Syria. There is a wide spectrum of evidence disproving this claim: In 2016, Russian military intervention helped President Assad's forces regain the control of territory in Syria. The Russian military took news crews to Kawkab in Hama province to demonstrate their success. Moscow built up substantial ground forces throughout Syria.The estimates place around 4,000 troops on the ground even including several private military companies (PMC)—ENOT Corp, “Wagner” and Morgan Security Group PMC — along with Russian military police with modern weaponry. Early examples of Russian interaction with pro-government militias date back to at least August of 2015, although they are more limited. Pictures of Russian soldiers and officers interacting with the Prophet Younis Mountain Battalion, a Latakia-based pro-Assad militia, are available.