Russia sent military equipment to Iraq last week to aid Iraqi forces in their continuing battle against jihadist militants. 

According to Bloomberg News, Russian military advisers are prepping Iraq's air force for using five new combat planes to help recapture areas of northern Iraq that were seized by militant fighters. 

The planes, which are used Russian Sukohi combat aircraft, arrived in Iraq Sunday as Iraqi military forces tried to stave off militants from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) from seizing Tikrit, a city in northern Iraq. Government forces were able to recapture Ouja village, a region south of Tikrit, late Saturday. 

The Iraqi government entreated Russia for military help, as they said U.S. fighter jets were taking too long to arrive. Russian advisers are in Iraq helping prepare "logistical procedures," then the aircraft will take flight in three to four days, according to air force commander General Anwar Ameen.

"One day after the Russian deputy foreign minister said that Moscow would not stand by idly, the Kremlin delivered the first of 25 Sukhoi fighter jets to Iraq," Theodore Karasik, director of research at the Institute for Near East and Gulf Military Analysis in Dubai, told Bloomberg.

An Iraqi government official said the army has gained ground in Tikrit, with troops clearing Tikrit University of ISIS fighters, killing 70 militants over the weekend. The fall of Ouja was reported later Saturday.

Tikrit, which is the capital of Salahuddin province located about 95 miles north of Baghdad, is one of two major cities that were captured by ISIS. Mosul was the first major city to be seized by the militants on June 10, as army forces failed to stave off the fighters. 

The Iraqi army is using air strikes and ground forces to oust the jihadists from Tikirt, security official Jawad al-Bolani told Bloomberg Sunday. Bolani, a former interior ministry official, said troops are getting support from U.S. intelligence on security logistics. 

The Iraqi military's sustained air operations could take several weeks to start, as the Iraqis gave up Russian aircraft in 1991 and will need training in order to use them.

However, the government may still be able to conduct some symbolic flights in order to intimidate the enemy. 

"If you get planes in the sky, it gives you a lot more credibility than you really deserve," Anthony Cordesman, a defense analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies told Bloomberg. 

The region's stock markets and global energy markets have seen a downturn due to the possibility that ISIS could incite a sectarian war, as Iraq is the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries' second-largest producer of oil.

The U.S. and other Western governments have criticized the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, which is mostly run by Shiites. Critics of Maliki claim that his government has excluded the country's Sunni majority, which prompted ISIS, a Sunni group, to wage war on Iraq's cities. Western governments have urged Iraq to form a more inclusive government that acknowledges the rights of all of Iraq's ethnic groups.

Russia, which is an ally of the Syrian regime that ISIS seeks to overthrow, could benefit by coming to Iraq's aid. Karasik said that Russia is helping Iraq so future governments in Baghdad will rely on Moscow for military equipment.  

While Iraq tries to drive out ISIS, the Islamic group declared itself an Islamic state in the areas it controls in Iraq and Syria. They also declared Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi the leader of the state. 

President Obama has not ordered air strikes in Iraq, but has agreed to send military advisers into the country to help the Iraqi military fight the militants. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry also flew to Baghdad last week to implore Iraq to form an inclusive coalition government. 

In an interview on ABC last week, Obama said the renewed conflict in Iraq could be a direct security threat to the U.S., as European sympathizers fighting with ISIS could easily get into the United States. 

"Then they come back," he said. "They've got European passports. They don't need a visa to get into the United States. 

"Special Forces are going to have a role," Obama said. "And there are going to be times where we take strikes against organizations that could do us harm."