"Let’s look at the facts and figures. According to the Russian Defence Ministry, of the 103 cruise missiles launched by the US and its allies, 71 were intercepted by Syria’s air defences, using mostly Soviet-made systems. Russian air defence units did not participate as no missile entered their areas of responsibility," the embassy's spokesperson told reporters when asked to comment on Williamson's words.
An important target for the strikes were Syrian military airfields, he added.
"Overall, 71 missiles were fired at 6 airfields. Of these, only 7 could reach their targets, including 4 at the disused Mezzeh air base, and 3 at Homs. No serious damage to infrastructure was inflicted," the spokesman explained.
"Of these, 7 were intercepted. The rest hit the empty sites with no people or equipment in place," the spokesperson concluded.
Early on Saturday, US President Donald Trump announced the military action in Syria in response to the alleged chemical weapons attack in the city of Duma in the Damascus suburb of Eastern Ghouta. As a result, Washington, and its allies – France and the United Kingdom – fired missiles on the Syrian facilities, which they claimed were linked with chemical weapons production.
From 00:42 GMT to 02:10 GMT, the three nations released over 100 missiles in Syria, most of which were shot down by Syrian air defense. The Russian forces were not involved, but they monitored all the strikes.
