Drones that attacked Russian military bases in Syria could have been shipped only from U.S. – Russian senator

MOSCOW. Jan 9 (Interfax) – The drones that attacked Russia’s military bases in Syria could have been shipped to the country only from the United States, Russian Federation Council Defense and Security Committee head Viktor Bondarev said.

“I think it’s clear to everyone who stands behind the militants. Only a technologically powerful state could have supplied the drones that bombarded our bases. This involves satellite navigation, barometric pressure sensors, and remote-controlled dropping of professionally assembled explosive devices within the predesignated coordinates,” Bondarev told Interfax on Tuesday.

“Under the guise of opposing a totalitarian regime and supporting opposition forces presumably defending interests of democracy, the U.S. first broke into a sovereign country without a UN sanction and started to nurture a civil war and arm, finance, and train terrorist organizations. Then, after the main militant units were destroyed, it salvaged their surviving remnants. Now, along with countries subordinate to them, it is supplying the terrorists with high-technology drones,” he said.

In this situation, it would be absolutely reasonable for any country to improve its air defense system, Bondarev said. “After all, if militants have such weapons and such hardware in their arsenal, they can strike anywhere,” he said.

The attacks by terrorists on Russian military bases in Syria were aimed at destabilizing the situation and making some statement, he said.

“It should be understood that, by delivering such pinpoint strikes, the terrorists didn’t even seek to oust Russia from the Middle East. But it’s clear that they are eager to demonstrate their capabilities and scare civilians, who seemed to have just taken a deep breath, and show that they are determined to take a revenge. Although, surely, it would be stupid for them to count even on some local success,” Bondarev said.