Tensions between the U.S. and Russia are running higher than ever after a U.S. Navy fighter jet shot down a Syrian Air Force warplane on Sunday.Russia’s defense ministry issued a statement early Monday that, as a result of the incident, it will now treat U.S.-led coalition planes in Syria as targets:
The Russian defense ministry says in a statement that, starting Monday, it will track all jets and drones of the U.S.-led coalition west of the Euphrates and treat them as targets.
The ministry also called on the U.S. military to provide a full account of why it decided to shoot down the Syrian SU-22.The shootdown occurred about two hours after the Syrian jet dropped bombs on Syrian rebel forces who are fighting ISIS in the country:
The incident occurred in the town of Ja’Din, south of Tabqa, Syria, which had recently been retaken from ISIS by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), an umbrella group of Syrian Kurdish and Arab rebel forces supported by the U.S. in the fight against the terrorist group.
SDF came under attack from regime forces in favor of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad around 4:30 p.m. Syria time. A number of SDF fighters were wounded in the assault, and the SDF soon left Ja’Din.
Russia, which is backing the Assad regime in the Syrian civil war, called the shootdown “a massive violation of international law and de facto a [sic] military aggression against the Syrian Arab Republic.”
In a statement issued after the incident, the U.S.-led coalition said its focus is on fighting ISIS, not the Syrian regime or Russian forces — but that “it will not hesitate to defend coalition or partner forces coming under attack.”
