(VOVworld) – Russia has withdrawn most of its strike aircraft from Syria, the US military said on Friday. Colonel Patrick Ryder, a spokesman at the US military’s Central Command, said that the Russian army still has helicopters and some transport aircraft in Syria.

Russian Sukhoi Su-30 SM fighter jets land at the Hmeimim airbase in the Syrian province of Latakia, on October 3, 2015. (Photo: Komsomolskaya Pravda/ AFP)

Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday announced a partial withdrawal of Russian forces from Syria. According to Putin, Russia left its S-400 air defense system in Syria as a hedge against foreign attack. Russia will continue to supervise a ceasefire in Syria. Russia’s troop withdrawal from Syria will help to boost Moscow’s efforts in reaching a political solution to Syria’s crisis.