The Russian military has released what it claims are details of a recent Israeli air strike on targets in the Damascus region, Ynet reported on Sunday. The report attributed the release to a desire in Moscow to retaliate for condemnations of Russia’s actions in Ukraine by Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid.
Citing Russian media reports, Ynet said senior Russian military officer Oleg Zhuravlev, the deputy chief of the Russian Center for Reconciliation of the Opposing Parties in Syria, had revealed that two Israeli F-16 fighter jets fired two guided missiles from the Golan Heights at targets in the Damascus area on Thursday night.
According to the Russian claims, one of the missiles was destroyed by a Russian-made Buk M2E air defense system in the possession of Assad regime forces, while the other caused material damage.
Earlier, Russia condemned Israel over what it described as “anti-Russian” rhetoric from Lapid.
Lapid accused Russia of committing war crimes in Ukraine and defended Israel’s vote in favor of a motion to suspend Moscow from the United Nations Human Rights Council, I24 reported on Friday.
In response, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement, “We have taken note of Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid’s aggressive statement. The Israeli Foreign Minister’s statements evoke regret and rejection.”
It added that “there was a poorly camouflaged attempt to take advantage of the situation in Ukraine to distract the international community’s attention from one of the oldest unsettled conflicts—the Palestine-Israeli one.”
