Home › Security › Russian forces appear in two distant theatres
Russian forces appear in two distant theatres
Summary
Reports from 21 and 22 December 2020 showed Russian aircraft near South Korea and Russian troops sent to the Central African Republic.
What did Russia's military reach look like as 24 December 2020 arrived? Reports from the preceding days pointed to activity far from Ukraine and its neighbours, in two separate places.
On 22 December 2020, South Korea said it had scrambled fighter jets after four Chinese and fifteen Russian military aircraft entered its air defence identification zone. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said China had notified it in advance of a joint China–Russia military exercise.
On 21 December 2020, Rwanda deployed what it called a protection force to the Central African Republic after its peacekeepers were attacked by rebel forces advancing on the capital, Bangui. The Rwandan and Central African governments accused former President François Bozizé of backing the rebels and plotting a coup, which he denied. Russia also sent troops and heavy weaponry to support the government.
What the reports show
The two episodes were unconnected in their details. One was a notified exercise with China in East Asian airspace. The other was a deployment in support of a government facing an armed advance. In both, Russian military assets were reported operating well outside Russia's immediate region.
