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Opinion
Leonid Bershidsky

Russian Casualties Would Take a Toll on Assad

Putin's support for the Syrian regime would fade quickly.
It could get ugly.

It could get ugly.

Photographer: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

There is a powerful reason President Vladimir Putin won't win Bashar al-Assad's war for him. As with Russia's limited military participation in the conflict in eastern Ukraine, Putin doesn't want casualties, because not even his powerful propaganda machine can conceal them.

QuickTake Syria's Civil War