What Russia's tactics in Syria could say about Putin's plan for Ukraine | DW News

Aziz Asmar wants to tell the world how Syrians have suffered. He wants to shake them up with his paintings, done on rubble in Idlib, the last stronghold of the insurgents. Idlib has repeatedly been the scene of Russian airstrikes. Now, more than anything else, Aziz wants to send a message of solidarity to the Ukrainians in faraway Europe.
Russian fighter jets and helicopters have been attacking towns and villages in Syria since September 2015. Officially, they are fighting Islamist terrorists. But in reality, they are hitting civilians. Military expert Joris Van Bladelm says Putin has been treating Syria as an experimental laboratory.
Putin is testing more than 200 weapons systems: Precision missiles fired from ships, bunker-busting weapons, drones and reconnaissance technology. Sites hit include power plants that supply electricity and water.
Cities like Aleppo are bombed till all that is left is rubble, then they are encircled and starved out. Cluster munitions are also used. Hundreds of clinics have been bombed, some more than once. Bakeries, markets and food supplies are becoming scarce. Even schools have been hit. Amnesty International's Diana Semann says these are war crimes similar to what is happening now in Ukraine.
From Putin's point of view, his strategy in Syria has been successful. Russia has made its presence known in the Middle East. Assad is firmly back in the saddle, albeit by Russia's grace.
Aziz Asmar fights against being forgotten. With his art, he hopes that the world will learn its lessons from the war in Syria.


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