HMEYMIM (Sputnik) — Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu at the request of Russian President Vladimir Putin has inspected the Russian military, deployed to the Hmeimim airbase in Syria and checked the launching sites of a S-400 air defense system, Russian Defense Ministry's spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said Saturday.
"The Russian defense minister has checked the combat duty at the command post of the air defense group and the launching sites of the S-400 air defense system deployed to the [Hmeimim] airbase," Konashenkov told reporters.
Syria has been mired in civil war since 2011, with government forces loyal to President Bashar Assad fighting a number of opposition factions and extremist groups.
