The Russian Defense Ministry slammed Israel on Feb. 7 for what it considered a provocation in the skies over Syria. In the early hours of Feb. 6, while operating from neutral airspace, Israel carried out strikes on Damascus’ suburbs at a time when a civilian Airbus 320 carrying 172 passengers was preparing to land at the airport in the Syrian capital. The Syrian military enacted its missile defense systems to repel the strikes.

"Only thanks to the prompt actions of dispatchers at Damascus airport and the effective work of the automated system of monitoring air traffic, the Airbus 320 was escorted out of the danger zone and assisted in successfully landing at an aerodrome at the Russian air base Khmeimim," Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov told reporters Feb. 7.

While Russian authorities said the flight had come from Tehran, Iran, it was later reported that the flight appeared to have traveled from the Iraqi city of Najaf and was operated by the private Syrian airline Cham Wings, which is subject to US sanctions.

Why it matters:  Russia’s Defense Ministry bears a heavy grudge against its Israeli counterpart over the downing of a Russian reconoissance aircraft in September 2018 by the Syrian air defense system. Israeli jets had been carrying out raids on Iranian targets in Syria, and Moscow says the Israelis didn't give the Russian military enough warning, leading to the Russian aircraft being downed in the mixup. At the time, the Russian military considered the Israeli manuevers as dangerous provocations that put the lives of Russian servicemen at risk and eventually led to their deaths.