But for a five-and-a-half-month war that didn't touch Russian territory, and is far from over, the Russian president is certainly reaping political capital at home. Since Tuesday morning, Russian television have been breathlessly reporting, minute-by-minute coverage of Russian bombers leaving their Syrian base of operations in Khmeimim.
"I want to go home," said one pilot in his cockpit ready for takeoff, "it's time."
As each Russian Su-35 or Su-24 bomber sped off the runway, a narrator recited its technical capabilities, a virtual air show.
Landing on Russian soil, fighter pilots were rewarded with heroes' welcomes.
A crowd waited at the Voronezh airbase, where bouquets of red roses were thrust into the pilots' arms and they were presented with medals on velvet cushions as choirs in full Russian traditional dress looked on.
"My brother is home", said a woman "our family is so proud".
Pride in Russia's military campaign in Syria will no doubt fortify Putin's approval ratings, which also shot up after Russia annexed Crimea two years ago.
Russians support the Syrian campaign, "not because people so much care about Syria," says Sergei Markov, a political adviser close to the Kremlin, "but because people are proud that Russia behaved very well in Syria and showed how strong the Russian army is."
More than that, the Syrian campaign, he said, was a valuable showcase for Russian military weaponry.
"Everybody could see how well the Russian weaponry is, and as a result
Russia's military industrial complex" has he motions with his fist as if knocking on a door billions worth of interest from other countries.
"Some big advertising of Russian weaponry, of course, is not the main goal," says Markov, "but it means it's not costly, even profitable" to have taken on this campaign.
The Kremlin said Thursday that the Syrian operation cost the equivalent of about $630 million. Much of that, it claimed, was transferred from Russia's defence training and drills budget for 2015, effectively making this outing a real-war training mission.
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Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry arrives here in Moscow next week, another showcase to underscore that the West needs Putin's influence to try to find a solution in Syria, which is exactly the position Vladimir Putin wants to be seen in.
