Russia masses ships, jets off Syria

Russian President Vladimir Putin. Photo / AP

Russia has announced it will begin a major military drill in the Mediterranean off the coast of Syria today as the United Nations warns a "perfect storm" is brewing in the battle for the country's last rebel stronghold.

Moscow's Defence Ministry said it would deploy 25 ships, including a Marshall Ustinov missile cruiser and 30 jets, for the exercises, which focus on anti-air and anti-submarine defence.

The armada is the biggest taskforce sent by President Vladimir Putin's Government since Russia's intervention in Syria's conflict in 2015.

Dmitry Peskov, a Kremlin spokesman, said the five-day drills were justified by the situation around Idlib, the northwestern province where Syrian and allied Russian forces are expected to launch an offensive.

The manoeuvring came as Russian media accused Britain and the United States of preparing a "false-flag" chemical attack in Idlib to frame the Syrian government and justify a Western attack on its forces.

Oana Lungescu, Nato's chief spokesman, expressed her concern about the drills. "We will not speculate on the intention of the Russian fleet, but it is important that all actors in the region exercise restraint and refrain from worsening an already disastrous humanitarian situation."

About 2.7 million people live in Idlib, where an offensive would pose a grave humanitarian problem as there is no safe territory left in Syria for residents to flee to.

"There is a perfect storm based on warnings, counter-warnings [from the US and Russia]," said Staffan de Mistura, UN envoy to Syria. "We would be witnessing the most horrific tragedy to the largest number of civilians.