Russia prepared for a major new offensive by government forces in Syria after building a bridge across the Euphrates river, amid growing tensions with the U.S. as the two powers compete for control of a strategically important slice of territory bordering Iraq.
Russian military engineers erected the bridge in two days under continuous shelling, said a top Defense Ministry official, Vladimir Burovtsev, the state news service Tass reported Tuesday. “Unmanned aerial vehicles were used, explosive substances and grenades were falling on us from the air during the installation work,” Burovtsev said. “But we suffered no losses and we did everything in time.”
