Russia just proved again that it's always one step ahead of the US in Syria

Kevin Lamarque/Reuters

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (R) look toward one another during a news conference following their meeting in Geneva, Switzerland where they discussed the crisis in Syria September 9, 2016.

The move came in in response to reports published earlier this week that Washington is considering targeting forces loyal to Bashar Assad, and was followed closely by a thinly veiled threat by the Russian Ministry of Defense to the US on Thursday that the missiles' radius could be "a surprise" to all unidentified flying objects operating in Syria.

"Any missile or air strikes on the territory controlled by the Syrian government will create a clear threat to Russian servicemen," Russian Defense Ministry spokesperson General Igor Konashenkov said in a statement released on Thursday.

The statement came three days after the US formally suspended its bilateral channel with Russia over Syria and a day after White House press secretary Josh Earnest questioned "Russia's credibility and intentions inside of Syria."

The Russian embassy tweeted in response to Earnest's comment that "Russia will take every defensive measure necessary to protect its personnel stationed in Syria from terrorist threat."

The warnings are mainly a response to reports that emerged earlier this week that the US officials are floating plans to launch limited airstrikes against Syrian regime positions.

Reuters

"History shows that often such reports are the prologue to real action," the statement read. "Russian air defense system crews are unlikely to have time to determine in a 'straight line' the exact flight paths of missiles and then who the warheads belong to. And all the illusions of amateurs about the existence of 'invisible' jets will face a disappointing reality."

Konashenkov said that of "particular concern" was information that "the initiators of such provocations are representatives of the CIA and the Pentagon," who "today are lobbying for 'kinetic' scenarios in Syria."

He was apparently referring to a report in The Washington Post published on Tuesday that Russia's latest scorched-earth government offensive on Aleppo, which has killed hundreds of civilians and opposition fighters in the city's rebel-held east over the past two weeks, has spawned an "increased mood in support of kinetic actions against the regime."

"The CIA and the Joint Staff have said that the fall of Aleppo would undermine America's counterterrorism goals in Syria," a senior administration official told the Post.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov later clarified in a press conference with French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault that the missile systems are purely defensive and pose no threat to anyone, Reuters reported.

Still, some observers were quick to point out that Konashenkov's statements amounted to a warning that Russia is prepared to shoot down US warplanes operating in Syria if they target pro-Assad forces. 

"Russia just said it will shoot down any missile or jet attacking the Syrian army; without waiting to identify it," Russia Today reporter Murad Gazdiev tweeted.

"Just got a statement from Russian Ministry of Defense that basically says Russia would shoot down coalition jets if US launches airstrikes against Assad," Roland Oliphant, a Moscow correspondent for the Telegraph, added on Twitter.

And Nadav Pollak, a former senior fellow at the Washington Institute and counterterrorism analyst at the Anti-Defamation League, noted that "Russia is basically saying: 'If we take down a coalition jet fighter, it's your fault.' Very aggressive rhetoric."

Russia accused the US of "blatant aggression" after US warplanes targeted a Syrian army base on Al-Tharda mountain on September 17, killing as many as 80 Syrian troops. The Obama administration said that the airstrike had been "unintentional," and was meant to target ISIS instead.