Russia didn't really pull out of Syria. Might actually have a larger presence

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(CNN)Last week the Russian military brought more than a hundred international journalists, including our CNN crew, to Palmyra. The trip was orchestrated to showcase Moscow's role in liberating the ancient heritage site but it also said a lot about the Russian army's capabilities and the scale of their assets in Syria. Ferrying that many people from Russia's air base in Latakia halfway across a war-torn country -- to a place that until recently was a combat zone -- is a massive logistical and security operation.

The convoy involved five buses full of journalists, at least eight armored vehicles with heavy machine guns, two fighting vehicles and the constant presence of two attack helicopters hovering overhead. During the more than six-hour journey, choppers were switched out several times and the vehicles were shadowed by a variety of gunships, including Mi-28, KA-52, and the modernized Mi-35s. As we made our way across Syria we passed several bases with Russian helicopters along the Western coastline, near Homs and in the Palmyra area.

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But the biggest surprise was seeing so many Russian ground forces in other places in Syria as well. The army has built a brand new outpost next to the old city of Palmyra. The freshly-paved camp is officially a base for the mining crews that cleared thousands of explosive devices from Palmyra and the surrounding towns over the past weeks since the city was retaken from ISIS. But aside from mine-clearing equipment, there also are dozens of fighting vehicles and armored personnel carriers stationed at the base. While those assets could be there for force protection, Russia has also deployed a state-of-the-art Pantsir-S1 air defense system that can both launch missiles and fire cannons at incoming planes.

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"After Palmyra's citizens fled from their city under the bombardment of Russia and Assad on the one hand, and the thuggery of ISIS fighters who coerced them to leave the city on the other hand, today Assad, with international supervision, allows Russia and its mercenaries to do whatever they wish in Palmyra," the Syrian opposition stated. "The Russian mercenaries seized citizens' houses and property, actively participated in the campaign to clear the mines ISIS planted in the city and enjoyed supporting coverage by their propaganda machine." "After all of this, the Russians are now establishing in Palmyra their second military base in the heart of Syria, in the archeological compound of the city, challenging the entire world" the statement read. "This is a clear violation of the honor of the place, which the Russians carry out under the guise of safeguarding it," the Syrian opposition said.

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