"Col. Gen. Sergei Rudskoi of the military's General Staff speaks during a briefing in the Russian Defense Ministry in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Dec. 7, 2017. The Russian military said its warplanes recently have operated at an ""unprecedented"" pace to support joint action by Kurdish-led forces and Russian special forces in eastern Syria, flying over 100 missions a day against the Islamic State group. (Vadim Savitsky/ Russian Defense Ministry Press Service pool photo via AP)"
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