On the first anniversary of its military involvement in defense of Syria's dictator Bashar al-Assad, Russia pledged to increase the intensity of its indiscriminate aerial bombing that's hitting civilian supporters of rebel groups fighting Assad.

Russian media reports Moscow as declaring much has yet to be done one year after the beginning of Russia's campaign in Syria. That Russian campaign is almost entirely an air campaign whose defining feature is the indiscriminate bombing of civilians in rebel-held cities and towns.

Like Us on Facebook

Russia also admitted it underestimated the time it would take to succor Assad. It originally planned on defeating the motley crew of rebels fighting to topple Assad in a few months. One year on, and victory for Russia and Assad is nowhere in sight.

Russia's ruthless bombing of civilians in the besieged city of Aleppo in support of a huge Syrian Army offensive now ongoing is living up to Moscow's promise to destroy anyone -- including civilians -- perceived to be a threat to Assad.

Reports said Russia admits the pace of developments in Syria aren't fully in line with the initial campaign plans of the Russian Aerospace Forces, allegedly against ISIL, but in reality against U.S.-backed rebel groups fighting Assad.

"When we launched the operation and our Aerospace Forces engaged in anti-terror fight, we expected the operation to last only several months. Today we mark the one-year anniversary (of the campaign) and one can still see no end to it," said Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov.

Russia said its aircraft conducted over combat 9,000 sorties from September 2015 to March 2016. It said these air strikes had helped Damascus turn the tide of war and launch offensives in key regions of the country.

Russia claims the airstrikes have significantly reduced or even stopped terrorists' efforts to sell oil from the occupied territories, destroying hundreds of terrorists' oil facilities and thousands of petroleum carriers.

Despite these alleged successes, Russia admits the goals of its military involvement have not been fulfilled while the rebels fighting Assad have not been destroyed.

TagsRussia, Syria, Bashar al-Assad, Aleppo, Russian Aerospace Forces, Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov