MOSCOW — Russia responded quickly and fiercely to the Feb. 3 downing of an Su-25 jet over Syria's Idlib province and the subsequent shooting death of its pilot. Shortly after the incident, the Russian Defense Ministry ordered precision missile strikes on the area and claimed to have killed at least 30 militants.
Russia is particularly concerned because the plane was apparently shot down by a portable anti-aircraft missile system, which would have been provided by some outside source. There were some discrepancies over who controlled the area where the plane was downed and who did the shooting.