It looks like Russia has thousands of troops in Syria

• Every Russian troop in Syria voted for Vladimir Putin in Sunday's presidential election.
• All 2,954 ballots were for Putin, according to the Russian Defense Ministry.
• This could confirm how many Russian troops are in Syria.

Every Russian troop in Syria voted for Vladimir Putin in Sunday's presidential election, NPR's Moscow Correspondent, Lucian Kim, tweeted on Monday, citing the Russia Defense Ministry. 

"Russian MoD: All Russian military personnel in Syria have voted, and all 2,954 ballots are for Putin," Kim tweeted. 

"(Well, at least we know the exact troop numbers now.)"

While this figure could easily be true, it's difficult to verify, given Russia's continual game of misinformation. It's also unclear if that figure included Russian mercenaries who operate in the country, namely to guard oil fields. 

Putin won on Sunday with nearly 77% of the vote, but the election has been criticized by international election monitors as "overly controlled" and lacking "genuine competition,"according to CNN. 

Russia and the Syrian regime also continue to conduct airstrikes in Eastern Ghouta, where at least 30 were killed on Sunday alone from regime bombing runs.

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