Russia has begun withdrawing ships from its naval base in Tartus, Syria, after a rapid advance by Islamist rebel forces that the Syrian army, led by President Bashar al-Assad, is unable to contain, according to Naval News
On December 2, the tanker “Yelnya,” crucial for supporting Russian forces in the Mediterranean, departed Tartus. Other vessels may have left the base along with it. The Russian naval group in Syria consists of five ships and one submarine, including two “Admiral Gorshkov” class frigates, one “Admiral Grigorovich” class frigate, an upgraded “Kilo” class submarine, and two auxiliary vessels.
“There’s a real possibility that the withdrawal is linked to the deteriorating situation in Syria,” said maritime analyst Droxford Maritime. Following the withdrawal of Russian ships, the Tartus base may be abandoned, with Russia likely to send the ships to the Baltic Sea. They could stop at ports in Algeria or Libya along the way.
If Russia decides to retain the base in Tartus, it will need to send substantial reinforcements, but the deployment would take weeks, according to Naval News.
Tartus, located on Syria’s Mediterranean coast, is a strategic asset for Russia. The Soviet Navy had a presence there from 1971, but withdrew after the USSR’s collapse. Russian forces returned to Tartus in 2012 to support President Assad during Syria’s civil war. Before its invasion of Ukraine, Russia strengthened its presence there to counter NATO aircraft carriers in the Mediterranean.
At the end of November, thousands of Syrian rebels, led by the breakaway group[b] “Hayat Tahrir al-Sham” (HTS), which split from Al-Qaeda[/b], launched an offensive from Idlib province. Within days, they captured Aleppo, Syria’s second-largest city, and advanced toward Hama to the south. They also seized dozens of other cities along the way.
The Syrian army has denied the rebels’ successes, stating that it is redeploying forces and preparing to launch a counteroffensive with the support of Russian combat aircraft. Following this, Russian airstrikes targeted the city of Idlib and HTS positions in the Aleppo and Hama provinces.
As well as pulling its ships out of the Tartus naval base, Russian forces have reportedly withdrawn from two other bases near Aleppo, which rebel forces captured on Friday. One of these bases is the Hama Air Base, which is seen as a lynchpin site.
Putin has also sacked the general commanding Russian forces in Syria.
The offensive led by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) jihadist group and its allies has reignited front lines which had been static for more than four years.
Its main rival, the US-backed Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) has also been fighting against Syrian government forces.
Monitors have said incompetent and poorly trained Syrian government forces melted away after the rebel attack, allowing HTS forces to make rapid gains across the northwest of the country.
Syrian army forces are now working on reinforcing defensive lines in Hama province to start a counter-attack against armed groups, the Syrian state news agency reported on Tuesday.
On December 1, it was reported that Russia had replaced the commander of its forces in Syria. After the opposition forces captured Aleppo, Lieutenant General Sergey Kisel was removed from his position. He was replaced by Colonel General Alexander Chayko, who had led the failed attempt to capture Kyiv, according to Z-bloggers.
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