It seems now that President Vladimir Putin has confirmed what many have continued to suspect. On state run Russia 24 TV Putin acknowledged that the Russian airstrikes in Syria are meant to bolster President Bashar al-Assad’s regime.

“Our task is to stabilize the legitimate government and to create conditions for a political compromise … by military means, of course, The units of international terrorists and their ilk have no desire to negotiate with the Syrian government, who is almost sieged in its own capital.”
Russia has said it’s coordinating with the Syrian regime to target ISIS and other terrorists. Al-Assad has used the term “terrorists” to describe Syrians who seek his ouster.

Until now, Putin and the Russian military have stated numerous times that their main objective in Syria was to fight the Islamic State.

CNN military analyst Lt. Col. Rick Francona said he had no doubt Russia was targeting Syrian rebels rather than ISIS.

“I think it’s very apparent from the target sets that we’re watching. Even the maps that are released from the Russians themselves show where they’re concentrating their airstrikes,” Francona said.

“And if you look at the map where they are hitting, most of them are concentrated in that area between Hama and Aleppo — and that’s where the Syrian rebels have had success over the past two months.”

The bombings are numerous. The Russian Defense Ministry said it has struck 53 alleged Islamic State targets in the past 24 hours, destroying command centers, ammunition and fuel depots as well as training camps.

In the meantime, according to a government official, U.S. forces carried out an airdrop of small arms ammunition on Sunday to Syrian Arabs in northern Syria, a U.S. military official said on Monday.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the airdrop of supplies to the opposition fighters was part of a revamped U.S. strategy announced last week to help rebels in Syria battling Islamic State militants.