Russian forces enter former Islamic State stronghold in Syria

Russian forces have entered Raqqa, the former de facto capital of the Islamic State caliphate, in one of the starkest examples yet of how Moscow has filled the vacuum created by President Donald Trump’s decision to pull US forces from northern Syria.

Russian troops were shown in footage on the defence ministry’s Zvezda TV channel shaking hands with Syrian children and unloading humanitarian aid bundles with the slogan “Russia is with you” from the back of trucks.

Raqqa was captured two years ago by US troops and their Kurdish-led Syrian allies in the biggest victory of Washington’s campaign against Islamic State in Syria.

But since Trump abruptly ordered a pull-out in October, Moscow has swiftly advanced into territory where US troops had operated.