Russian leaders outside the usual folks are speaking up and want accountability. This is refreshing. One of the aspects of the OCO (Overseas Contingency Operations) funds that concerns Americans a great deal is the idea the president has a private military operation. That is not acceptable. It is why the US Congress is lawfully required to commit to any war after 90 days of any use of the US military.
It would seem as though Russians are viewing the involvement in Syria the same way. I had thought there was an annoucement as well that Russia was leaving Syria (click here), with Turkey entering the fight. With this new confrontation between the USA and Russia forces all kinds of questions arise and it presents a much larger problem, in that, how far is a confrontation going to go with two major powers?
February 13, 2018
By Ivan Nechepurenko
Mr. Ionov said not all those killed were Russian: Some of the paid fighters came from other countries that were once part of the Soviet Union. “More than 200 is the current estimate, we cannot know the exact number yet, but most of them were Russian,” he said in a telephone interview.
Mr. Ionov said he was speaking out because he wanted any Russians who were killed to be officially recognized for their sacrifice.
“The truth has to be told,” he said. “If people died, then this should be recognized and respects should be paid to people who fought against terrorists.”
He called on the government to give a fuller version of events, adding, “People are outraged because they want to know the truth.”
Mr. Ionov was not the only one speaking out about Russian fatalities. Aleksandr Averin, a member of the Other Russia nationalist party, confirmed that Kirill Ananiev, a party member who left for Syria about a year ago, had been killed in the airstrike, noting that there were other “substantial losses....
