US Africa Command said Russia has introduced fighter aircraft to Libya to “tip the scales” in the country’s civil war, a move the command characterized as a step toward a possible security threat to NATO.
Reports first emerged last week that a Russian MiG-29 had been spotted at al-Jufrah airbase in western Libya. Satellite imagery also led to speculation that Russian Su-24s were being stored in hangars at al-Khadim airbase in the country’s east.