Russian soldiers came under fire Tuesday while delivering a live briefing to the Russian Ministry of Defense.
WATCH:
The Russian soldiers were live-streaming to Moscow when they suddenly came under fire at the end of their briefing. Soldiers in the background of the video are seen rushing towards the fighting to counterattack. The two soldiers holding the briefing duck to avoid fire. At one point, a cameraman is seen searching for cover, and the camera eventually tries to zoom in on the fighting.
The Russian soldiers were live-streaming from Costello Road in Aleppo, where a U.S. brokered ceasefire was meant to be in effect. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry announced the ceasefire deal with his Russian counterpart in Geneva Saturday morning.
The agreement stipulates that beginning Monday morning, all parties in Syria will begin a “genuine reduction of violence,” for a period of one week.
If the ceasefire holds for a week, then the U.S. will open a joint operations center with Russia meant to target the Islamic State and al-Qaida elements in Syria. The video calls into question Russian claims that the ceasefire is holding throughout Syria.
Minutes into the ceasefire’s implementation Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad reportedly violated the agreement. “It’s far too early to draw any definitive conclusions,” said Kerry defending the ceasefire. Despite the early violations, he told reporters that it may “take a day or two” for the ceasefire to be fully implemented.
Even if the ceasefire agreement holds for a week, U.S. defense officials are deeply skeptical of cooperating with Russia in counter-terrorism targets. Under the deal both parties must agree that a group is a legitimate terrorist target before it can be bombed. Russia has established a consistent pattern of labeling any group that opposes Assad as “terrorists.”
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