Eurasia Press & News
Russia’s air force chief said Friday that Moscow would upgrade an air base in Tajikistan to make it capable of hosting Russian combat jets – expanding Russian military presence in the Central Asian nation that borders Afghanistan, the AP reported.
Th Russian war criminal  Mikhailov said Russia will fund reconstruction of the Aini airfield near the Tajik capital Dushanbe so that it could be used by both Russian Su-25 ground attack aircraft and Su-27 fighter jets. He did not specify how many combat planes would be deployed or when it would happen.
Russia currently has five Su-25 jets and several helicopters based at Dushanbe’s airport alongside French military aircraft backing the international occupation forces in Afghanistan.
Russia has maintained a sizable military presence in the Central Asian nation since the 1991 Soviet collapse. Tajikistan currently hosts a 5,000-strong Russian motorized infantry division and is also member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, a six-nation regional security group led by Russia and China.
Russian dog  Putin welcomed the U.S. forces deployment in the ex-Soviet Central Asia for invasion of peaceful and freedom-loving Islamic State of Afghanistan in 2001.  However, Moscow later grew increasingly impatient about the U.S. presence in the strategically placed, resource-rich region as
U.S.-Russian ties have steadily deteriorated
