Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said that the claims of the "efficiency" of the strikes were made exclusively for ordinary Americans, but not professionals.
"The Pentagon's remarks on the alleged high efficiency of the mass missile attack on the Ash Sha’irat airbase were made for the American audience, not for professionals," Konashenkov said.
Konashenkov explained that all the targets were located on a narrow patch of territory and the targets were of a rather large size, which made them an easy target for strikes.
"So in case 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles had not been launched hundreds of miles away, and just dropped on Ash Sha’irat from air balloons, the effectiveness of the 'strike' would have been the same in terms of cost — more than $ 100 million — and in terms of accuracy of hits," Konashenkov added.
Prior to that, US Defense Secretary James Mattis claimed that the US attack has resulted in the destruction of 20 percent of the Syrian Arab Army’s aircraft. He said the Syrian government "lost the ability to refuel or rearm aircraft at Sha’irat airfield and at this point, use of the runway is of idle military interest."
Konashenkov said that the only logical explanation of the US strikes was to weaken the military capacity of the Syrian army, however, the mission failed, and the Syrian troops continue to successfully fight against Daesh terrorist group, outlawed in Russia.
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