Russia sends warplanes to Syria for huge naval drills in Med

By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV
Associated Press

MOSCOW (AP) — The Russian military has deployed long-range nuclear-capable bombers and fighter jets carrying state-of-the-art hypersonic missiles to Syria for massive naval drills in the Mediterranean Sea amid the soaring tensions with the West over Ukraine. Russia’s Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu arrived in Syria to oversee the drills that mark the biggest Russian naval deployment to the Mediterranean since the Cold War. The Defense Ministry said the exercises involve 15 warships and about 30 aircraft and are part of a series of sweeping naval drills that started last month. The massive naval drills and the deployment of additional warplanes to Syria demonstrated an increased Russian military foothold in the Mediterranean.