On Wednesday, Russian lawmakers gave President Vladimir Putin the authority to use Russian troops abroad, a step required under the Russian constitution. The vote in Russia's upper chamber, or Council of Federation, was unanimous, the Kremlin said, with one official telling Reuters that the resolution would only authorize use of Russia's air force in Syria. "The Syrian president asked the leadership of our country for military assistance," explained Kremlin official Sergei Ivanov after the vote.
"There have some media reports from the Middle East that Russian military jets have already started carrying out airstrikes in Syria," Reuters says. "The Kremlin has declined to confirm that." The last time Putin requested, and received, permission to use troops abroad was in March 2014, right before Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula.
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