Why Russia condemns U.S. missile strike on Syria, suspends key air agreement

Putin’s spokesman said the Russian president considered the attack an attempt to distract attention from the heavy civilian casualties caused by a U.S.-backed offensive to capture the northern Iraqi city of Mosul from the Islamic State group.

Russian president Putin

MOSCOW — Russia on Friday condemned a U.S. missile strike against Syrian government forces as an attack on its ally and said it was suspending an agreement to minimize the risk of in-flight incidents between U.S. and Russian aircraft operating over Syria.
Even as Russian officials expressed hope that the strike against Syrian President Bashad al-Assad’s forces would not lead to an irreversible breakdown in U.S. relations with Moscow, the Kremlin’s decision to suspend the 2015 memorandum of understanding on the air operations immediately raised tensions in the skies over Syria.

14 Civilians 'killed in barrel bomb attacks' on rebel-held areas near Damascus

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Assad led Syrian government forces have reportedly killed at least 14 civilians in a series of barrel bomb attacks on rebel-held areas outside Damascus. The regime has launched an offensive on Wadi Barada, a town north-west of the capital city.
According to pro-government news sources, air strikes began on Saturday after militants from the Fateh al-Sham group, formerly known as Jabhat al-Nusra, refused to leave the area unarmed. Pro-revolution activists said government forces unleashed a barrage of ordnance on the village, including explosive barrels dropped from helicopters and at least 30 large missiles.

In Wadi Barada, activists said around 100,000 people were without running water or electricity, and were under attack from all directions. The offensive follows an escalating crisis over water supplies feeding into Damascus from an area that includes Wadi Barada.