Persistent reports in recent days indicate that Russia is increasingly involved in the civil war in Syria. The involvement is stealthy and apparently not as heavy as in eastern Ukraine, but it creates interesting prospects for U.S.-Russian relations, as well as for the development of both the Syrian and the Ukrainian conflicts.
The evidence of Russian activity is sketchy. There's a video from Syrian government forces showing a Russian BTR-82A armored personnel carrier firing shells, apparently during a battle near the port city of Latakia, which is strategically important to the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad. Russian commands ("More! Do it again!") are heard vaguely in the background.
There's a report on an Israeli website claiming a Russian "expeditionary force" is already in Syria and the Russian air force was about to start attacking Islamic State targets.
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