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Putin’s honouring of Syria veterans suggests wider involvement
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/mar/18/putin-honours-syria-veterans-wider-russian-involvementTank and artillery commanders decorated in Moscow despite Kremlin previously insisting only air force took part in fighting
Putin’s honouring of Syria veterans suggests wider involvement
Alec Luhn in Moscow
Friday 18 March 2016 09.43 EDT
Vladimir Putin has awarded medals to tank and artillery commanders at a ceremony for soldiers who fought in Syria, apparently contradicting the Kremlin’s previous insistence that only its air force was in combat there.
At a ceremony to honour veterans of the Syria campaign in the Kremlin on Thursday, the Russian president awarded the order of St George in the fourth degree to Maj Gen Yury Yarovitsky, deputy commander of the 1st tank army of the western military district, Kommersant newspaper reported.
Participants told Kommersant journalist Andrei Kolesnikov, a Putin biographer known for his access to the president, that at least five Russian tanks were in Syria and were operated by Russian crews.
According to a list of Syria awards published by state news agency Tass, Putin also decorated the deputy commander of the 120th artillery brigade’s howitzer battalion.
