Russia says it has withdrawn a jet that was terrorizing the Syrian rebels

Aleksandr Markin via Wikimedia Commons

A Russian Su-25.

The Russian Defense Ministry has announced the withdrawal of 30 of it's attack planes, including all of the Su-25 Frogfoots, from Syria on Wednesday.

This announcement follows a March 14 declaration that Russia would begin removing it's attack planes from the war torn country.

At the time, only a small number of Su-34 "multidimensional bombers" were withdrawn from Hmeymim airbase near Latakia, Syria, where Russia also operates a naval base.

Although Russia's stated intention in entering the Syrian civil war was to combat the international terror group ISIS, their actions have since shown their true focus was on supporting the Assad regime.

Since Russia announced their withdrawal from Syria, Syrian forces, with Russian advisors and air support, have reclaimed the ancient city of Palmyra from ISIS, though documents uncovered by US Special Forces suggest that Assad and ISIS had a pact that allowed ISIS to remove its heavy weapons from the city in exchange for handing control over to the regime.

The Su-25 Frogfoot is a close air support platform that has seen heavy use since it's deployment to Syria in late September, 2015. During their deployment, the Frogfoots were one of the most destructive planes used against the Syrian rebels.

Institute for the Study of War

A map of Russian airstrikes in Syria shows a concentration of bombings on Rebel-held zones.