Defense Department officials told CNN that earlier this week, Russia had warned the US military that it would launch airstrikes against local Washington-allied militants in southeast Syria. there were no US troops nearby, and the US troops did not need to move because they were far enough away, but local fighters did.

According to a CNN report, “Russian air strikes appear to be carefully timed and delivered at a time when tensions between Washington and Moscow are rising over the war in Ukraine, and the Pentagon is trying to prevent tensions from escalating with Russia.” officials stressed that in Syria, where the two sides have been working in close proximity to each other for several years, “the initial US assessment is that perhaps Russian forces were ordered to notify the US in advance and launch air strikes, knowing that they won’t hit US forces.” And the Americans will warn their allies.”