Russia gave Syria S-300 missiles for free — report

Russian state news agency TASS quotes an official source saying three S-300 air defense batteries recently transferred to Syria were a donation.

“On October 1, three battalion sets of S-300PM systems of eight launchers each were delivered to Syria,” the source is quoted saying.

“These systems were previously deployed at one of the Russian aerospace forces’ regiments which now uses the S-400 Triumf systems. The S-300 systems underwent capital repairs at Russian defense enterprises, are in good condition and are capable of performing combat tasks,” the source adds.

Russia last month announced it would provide Syria with the S-300 after a Russian reconnaissance plane was downed by Syrian air defenses during an Israeli air strike. Israel and the United States have condemned the transfer of the advanced anti-aircraft system.