If the Cold War ended, then someone forgot to notify the United States and Russia because both rivals are currently bolstering their military prowess inside Syria through a vessel of different proxies that seem to be unaware of the tumultuous uproar this has caused around the international community.

Recently, the Russian Federation upped the ante in Syria by deploying 650 Marines to the shores of Tartous in order to begin the wide-spread training of the civilian-led “National Defense Forces” (NDF) inside the provinces of Latakia, Tartous, and Homs.

Not to be outdone, the U.S. has recently decided to launch numerous airstrikes in the Homs Governorate’s eastern countryside, marking the first time that the U.S. Air Force has ventured this far south in Syria – their targets were the ancient cities of Palmyra (Tadmur) and Al-Quraytayn (historical Assyrian city).

With both countries unwilling to back-off from this heavyweight match, Russia has decided to proliferate more heavy armory and military personnel to Syria amid the recent rumors of their escalated participation inside the country; this includes the latest reports of their alleged helicopter missions in Latakia.

On Wednesday, the Russian Federation deployed more than 200 Marines to Syria after the total number of military personnel proved too little to train the latest batch of NDF recruits in western Syria.

It seems that Russia has championed the training of the NDF after military advisors from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard’s “Al-Quds Brigade” spent two years advising these militiamen around the country.