The
Russian army has been training and testing its military arsenal for 7 years
against Syrian civilians, hospitals, infrastructure, schools, roads and
agricultural lands and against the command centers and positions of Syrian
opposition fighters in the north, south, center and around the capital
Damascus.
It
has turned millions of Syrians as well as their towns and villages into
targets, regularly praising the effectiveness of its tactical and strategic
weapons.
More
than 20,000 Syrians (civilians and fighters) have been killed in these strikes,
and hundreds of thousands have been injured and/or displaced. Dozens of
hospitals and medical centers have been destroyed or put out of service and
entire neighborhoods have been ravaged or even razed.
All
this happened with impunity, without Putin being worried or sanctioned.
This is a reality to keep in mind when analyzing the invasion of Ukraine today, even if the political (and geopolitical) context is very different.