Shoigu called the number of dead militants for three years of Russia's operations in Syria

Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said that during the Russian operation in Syria, which has been lasting for three years, more than 87,500 militants were killed. He said this, speaking at a forum at the Fifth Meeting of the Ministers of Defense of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and dialogue partners in Singapore, according to a report by the Ministry of Defense, made available to RBC.
According to him, during this time, 1.4 thousand settlements and more than 95% of the territory of Syria were liberated. In addition, key locations in the Syrian Arab Republic were repulsed from militants and communications were unblocked. VKS of Russia destroyed about 122 thousand objects of terrorists. In total, Russian military aircraft made more than 40 thousand combat missions, 21 thousand of which were at night. Shoigu said that Russian sappers cleared 6.5 thousand hectares of Syria and 19 thousand buildings and structures.
The Minister of Defense concluded that with the support of Russian aviation, the terrorists of the Islamic State organization banned in Russia were completely defeated. Shoigu noted that at the moment, under the control of the Syrian troops, the territory where more than 90% of the population live. “In Syria,” the minister noted, “we have gained rich combat experience, which we are ready to share,” said the head of the Ministry of Defense.
At the end of September, Viktor Bondarev, chairman of the Federation Council’s defense and security committee of the former commander-in-chief of the armed forces, gave an estimate of the number of Russian soldiers killed in Syria. According to him, for three years the loss of the Russian Armed Forces amounted to 112 people. Also, according to him, Russia lost eight aircraft, seven helicopters and several armored personnel carriers.
On Thursday, October 18, President Vladimir Putin said that Russia had launched an operation in Syria because of the threat to the country from terrorism. The Russian leader noted that, in a global sense, the Russian military did not defeat terrorism, but were able to inflict "enormous damage" on it.

In December 2017, Putin announced the withdrawal of the Russian group in Syria. In total it was planned to withdraw two thirds of the contingent and equipment. Part of the Russian military is still in the Syrian Arab Republic.