The Russian and U.S. militaries operating in Syria have become embroiled in a heated dispute over an incident in northeastern Syria in which four American soldiers were injured. According to the Russian account and social media postings, an American patrol attempted to block a Russian military police patrol in Malikiyah in the northeast corner of Hasakah province. Sputnik and Al Masdar published four videos originally posted on social media showing the Russian and U.S. vehicles in close proximity to each other at speed and two Russian helicopters circling low overhead, apparently trying to intimidate the Americans. “U.S. forces appear to be blocking a road and then attempt to block the path of the Russian patrol when they drive through the field,” said one of the Twitter posts reported by Sputnik. The collision in which the four Americans were injured then apparently occurs.
In the aftermath, the Russian Defense Ministry initially reported that Gen. Valery Gerasimov, chief of the Russian General Staff, called Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley. Gerasimov “drew the U.S. side’s attention to the fact that the commanders of the International antiterrorist coalition were notified about the passage of the Russian military in accordance with the existing rules,” reported the Russian Defense Ministry. The ministry issued a statement the next day charging that they had followed all of the rules and protocols, including notification of the U.S. side of the route and timing of the Russian patrol, but that the U.S. vehicles tried to block the Russians anyway.
