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On 11 december 2017, Vladimir Putin announced that Russian army would partially withdraw from Syria.

"In two years, the Russian armed forces, together with the Syrian army, have defeated the most lethal group of international terrorists," Tass quoted Putin as saying. "In this regard, I have decided that a significant part of the Russian military contingent in the Syrian Arab Republic is returning home to Russia."

Russian military contingent is (officially) operating in Syria since the autumn of 2015. But it is not the first time Putin declares he want to pull the troops out. He already did so in march 2016 but it seems this communication was never followed by a real withdrawal.

Has there been an actual pull out of Russian Army since 11 december 2017 ?

Is there any difference in the numbers or in the nature of Russian troops in Syria in may 2018 compared to december 2017 ?

As there been further communication of Russian officials about the calendar of the withdrawal, about the quantity of troops that are planned to leave or remain in Syria, or about any rescheduling ?

N.B. : This question is just about the factual existence or non-existence of the withdrawal. For any discussion about Putin's motivations for announcing a pull out, please refer to this other question.

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    Not an answer since I can't back this up, but their aerial campaign has quieted down, and there's less de-mining to be done after IS' territory has been mostly cleared, so there's probably been redeployment of some forces.
    – einpoklum
    Commented May 23, 2018 at 14:58
  • @einpoklum : good remark, but AFAIU, most of the de-mining in areas controlled by the Syria-Russia-Iran-Hezbollah-milicias coalition were not done by Russia but by Iran.
    – Evargalo
    Commented May 23, 2018 at 15:01
  • I don't think so... see this batch of search results. I particularly remember lots of news stories about Russian sappers in Halab (Aleppo).
    – einpoklum
    Commented May 23, 2018 at 15:40
  • @einpoklum : Maybe you're right. I can also find links about Iran de-mining operations, but maybe I misappreciated the respective parts of both armies : uk.reuters.com/article/uk-mideast-crisis-iraq-nujaba-specialrep/… That could be for another question...
    – Evargalo
    Commented May 23, 2018 at 15:47

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This is only assumption answer, because official data are secreted.

Here is some satellite images from Syrian Tias air base(https://cont.ws/@colonel-cassad/949571), and further (the same bloger) you can find more satellite images from other Syrian air bases. Comparing these images, you may make a summary, that generally, forces are at place. The main part of russian forces are air and radioelectronic forces, covered by air defence systems, and its core is in place, I think.

And above all: russian foreign minister Lavrov claimed ,that russian forces will stay while they are in need by Syrian goverment(http://tass.ru/politika/5214795/). Russia has a mandate for operating there from the Syrian goverment, so there is no reasons to pull out forces while US forces are still hanging around.

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    Downvoters, please, leave your comments. It's interesting for me to know your motivation.
    – user2501323
    Commented May 24, 2018 at 11:46
  • I didn't downvote : The impressions from satelite data and the Lavrov statement are helpful, thanks for the research. But I wonder about the last sentence. 1.The motivation for the withdrawal announcement seems to be that Assad needs less Russian troops to keep control than in 2015-17. 2. What's the link with US forces ? First they are very few compared to Russians, second they have never been mentioned as a reason for Russian presence in Syria.
    – Evargalo
    Commented May 24, 2018 at 14:54
  • 1.But he still needs them. And I doubt if there will be no bases after the war ends. All is around mandate. If Syrian goverment somehow calls it back, there will be another situation. 2.Air-defence systems were placed there since the very beginning. They will prevent Lybian or Yugoslavian scenario if necessary.
    – user2501323
    Commented May 24, 2018 at 14:58
  • Following your Tass link to the original Lavrov itw fro Clarin, he even said "Then, in December 2017, Russia withdrew most of its military contingent from the territory of the Syrian Arab Republic. However, Russia's mission in Syria is not over yet." (clarin.com/mundo/… + Goggle translation). If other sources could be found confirming this, that would make a complete answer.
    – Evargalo
    Commented May 24, 2018 at 15:17
  • will try to find it. But, really, this is searching in the darkness - even satellite images cannot give full situation. But there is some reason - war is near its end
    – user2501323
    Commented May 24, 2018 at 15:23

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