Russian Defense Minister General of the Army Sergei Shoigu inspected the Russian air base in Khmeimim, Syria

MOSCOW: At the command post of the airbase, General of the Army Sergei Shoigu heard a report from the commander of the Russian grouping of troops (forces) in Syria, Lieutenant General Berdnikov, on the current situation, measures taken jointly with the Syrian armed forces to combat the remnants of international terrorists, as well as providing humanitarian assistance to the local population.

After the hearing, the head of the Russian military department, together with the commander, checked the infrastructure facilities of the Russian air base and laid a wreath at the busts of the Heroes of the Russian Federation who died while performing tasks in the Syrian Arab Republic.

On the runway, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu spoke with Russian pilots of Tu-22m long-range bombers and MiG-31k fighter-interceptors, who arrived at the air base from Russia on February 15 to participate in the exercise of the Russian Navy.
While communicating with the flight crew of the Khmeimim air base, Sergei Shoigu introduced a new tradition - he presented a special air helmet to a pilot who made more than 300 sorties.