EXCLUSIVE: Russian МOD Puts Downed American Missiles on Display
Back to the current situation in Syria and the analysis of the missile strike delivered by the US, Britain, and France on April 14th. The briefing was conducted by Russian General Staff spokesman Colonel-General Sergey Rudskoy.
Sergey Rudskoy, General Staff spokesman:
"Greetings. The Defense Ministry is continuing to study the missile strike against Syria delivered in the early hours of April 14th by the international coalition led by the USA right before the OPCW experts were supposed to come to Damascus to investigate the incident in the city of Duma. According to the American, British, and French official statements the main targets of the missile strike were chemical weapon plants that allegedly exist in Syria as well as special ammunition warehouses. According to the military leadership of the coalition, the manufacturing potential was concentrated in three areas.
The first area was the Barzeh Research and Development Center in the greater Damascus area. Until 2013, the center had been developing means of individual protection from the effects of chemical weapons. The research implied the use of various chemicals whose amounts were limited by the Chemical Weapons Convention. In 2017, the laboratories of the mentioned research center were examined by the OPCW. The inspection confirmed that no chemical weapons were being developed or manufactured there. The second area was the underground storage Khimshimshar located in Homs. No chemical weapons have ever been developed or stored there. The third area was the ground-based storage Khimshimshar located in Homs. No chemical agents have ever been stored there as well. I'd like put particular stress on the fact that in any country chemical weapon research facilities and chemical agent storages are heavily guarded due to the danger they pose to people. However, those three areas weren't guarded at all.
There were just ordinary buildings and hangars. Many former employees and bystanders visited the areas right after the strike wearing no means of individual protection. None of them were affected by any chemical agents. Besides, in order to determine the possible area contamination level after the air strike and the danger it could pose to the people the Russian RCDB experts took all required samples in Barzeh. Their analysis confirmed the absence of any toxic chemicals or chemical agents in the area. As confirmed by the relevant organization. It means, that the research facility hadn't been working with chemicals for a long time. The reason why the military leadership of the coalition decided to strike those specific facilities, remains unclear. They could have believed toxic agents were actually stored there. But then cruise missile strike would have caused a large-scale area contamination which would have led to tens of thousands of casualties among the citizens of Damascus. Regarding the strike itself.
The US, Britain, and France considered their strikes successful. They claim that all missiles hit their targets. The Barzeh Research and Development Center was allegedly struck by 76 cruise missiles and the Khimshimshar storage was struck by 29 cruise missiles. According to the US, a total of 105 missiles was fired. The General Staff of the Russian Defense Ministry thoroughly analyzed the results of the strikes. The gathered missile fragments the inspection of the crates and the pattern of destruction suggests that no more than 22 missiles actually reached their target instead of the declared 105. Out of the 76 declared hits, only 13 were found in the vicinity of the Barzeh Research and Development Center. It's proven by the fact that only the central area of the research facility was destroyed while the surrounding buildings located no further than 100 yards remained intact.
Even if we bear in mind that a Tomahawk missile carries between 330 lbs and 440 lbs of explosives then, according to the American version of events, not taking into account the air-to-ground missiles fired from the two B1-B bombers no less than 8.5 tons of explosive supposedly detonated in the area. Such an explosion would have caused much more damage to the Barzeh research facility than the destruction pattern suggests. According to the data we've received from the air defense systems field inspections, and examinations of witnesses the air defense systems Pantsir, Osa, Strela-10, Buk, Kvadrat, and S-125 that were covering the Syrian capital and the nearby airfields of the Syrian Air Force Duvali, Dumer, Blei, and Mezzeh 46 cruise missiles were destroyed. Judging by their flight trajectory and the capabilities of the Syrian means of air defense all missiles were destroyed within the five interception zones. Three of them are located to the west of the Syrian capital. Two other zones are located to the east.
The fragments of the cruise missiles which were found in those interception zones have dents typically caused by the impact of guided air defense missiles. Serial numbers, dates, manufacturers, as well as other data are marked on the fragments of the missiles and could be easily identified by experts. You can see some of the fragments on the screen. You'll have an opportunity to study them in detail once the briefing is over. Some of the missiles didn't reach their targets apparently due to malfunction which could have led to the destruction of civilian facilities and deaths among civilians.
Several missiles, including a Tomahawk cruise missile and an air high-precision missile have been transported to Moscow. You can see the warhead of the Tomahawk on the screen. They are currently being studied by our experts. Their findings will be used to improve Russian weapons. Regarding the findings in the Khimshimshar area where chemical weapons were allegedly stored, according to the US. The Pentagon stated that the ground facilities were hit by 22 missiles. We identified no more than seven hits which corresponds to this satellite image.
The underground storage of Khimshimshar was hit by seven missiles, according to the US military. Our intelligence identified only two of them. The most damage inflicted by the expensive so-called "smart" missiles was to maintenance buildings that had nothing to do with military activities. In total, within the three interception zones of Homs which the Syrians are responsible for, the Syrian air defense systems Pantsir, Osa, Buk, S-125, and Kvadrat destroyed 20 missiles, according to the confirmed data. Their fragments are displayed on the screen and in this hall. I'd like to stress, that the majority of the high-precision weapons were destroyed by Soviet air defense systems developed 40 years ago: S-125, Osa, and Kvadrat. This air defense equipment was restored and upgraded with the help of Russian specialists. Syria's Ministry of Defense has thoroughly analyzed their missile attack game. Based on the results, certain changes have been made to the country's air defense system, which will increase its reliability. Russian specialists will continue to teach Syrian soldiers. They will also help them to operate newer air defense systems, which are scheduled for delivery soon. I remind you that the cruise missiles never entered the zones in Syria which Russian air defense systems are responsible for.
The Russian group of forces is ready to respond to any air strikes. Yesterday, at 8:00 PM, two insurgents' drones were detected and destroyed by the Russian air defense systems six miles from the Khmeimim air base. The strikes by the US-led coalition didn't stop the peace process in the Syrian Arab Republic. Recently freed from the insurgents, Eastern Ghouta is returning to a peaceful life. Government authorities have been restored, and housing and utilities are being restored in this suburb of Damascus. Power and water supply have been restored to many residential areas, and stores are open again. At the same time, prices for provisions have dropped significantly.
The Yarmouk Camp, located south of Damascus, is almost freed from the terrorist groups. Besides, Russian Reconciliation Center, with the support of the Syrian government came to an agreement with the illegal armed formations that control the East Qalamun. They will voluntarily leave this region. As a result, 5,495 insurgents and their family members were transferred from East Qalamun to Jarabulus, located in Northern Syria, in just four days.
Here, they've already raised Syrian flags, the government authorities began working, the infrastructure is being restored. The insurgents gave the government forces 28 tanks, 23 Scud tactical ballistic missiles, 35 light anti-tank grenade launchers, and many light weapons, previously seized from the Syrian Army. What raises the most questions is how Western-made weapons were manufactured and delivered to Damascus. The TOW anti-tank guided missile systems were among them, along with others.
The Russian Reconciliation Center is working on stabilizing the situation so the refugees can return to their homes. As of today, over 62,000 people have returned to their homes in Eastern Ghouta. 9,508 people returned from the de-escalation zone in Idlib to Aleppo via the humanitarian passage through Abu al-Duhur and Tell Sultan. Critical infrastructure in Deir-ez-Zor is being restored, controlled by the Eastern Territories Steering Committee, with the help of the Reconciliation Center. 44,501 civilians returned to their homes on the Euphrates bank since last December. In conclusion, I'd like to say that Russia is doing everything to restore peace in Syria.
Thank you for your time.