The Russian military marked the fifth anniversary of its intervention in the armed conflict in Syria on 30 September. The consequences have been devastating for many Syrian civilians, with hundreds of thousands killed and millions more forced to flee their homes. While all sides to the conflict have committed serious laws-of-war violations, Russia’s intervention has been characterised by the indiscriminate bombing of schools, hospitals, and markets – the civilian infrastructure essential to a society’s survival.
The cost for Syrians who have lost loves ones and whose entire lives have been uprooted – often for the second, third, or fourth time since the war started – is incalculable. But Russian taxpayers may not realise that they are bankrolling this abuse, to their own detriment.
As Russia’s engagement in Syria drags into its sixth year – already over half the length of the Soviet Union’s war in Afghanistan – and as the country reels from the human and economic fallout of the Covid-19 pandemic, Russian taxpayers would be right to question why their taxes are being used to bomb of schools and hospitals in Syria.
