Russia's troubled retreat: Turmoil in Syria disrupts evacuation
The overthrow of Bashar al-Assad, the Russian-backed dictator of Syria, has led to Russia needing to evacuate its military contingent from the country. To accomplish this, Russia has sent ships to Syria to evacuate the remaining equipment along with airlifting the most valuable equipment.
After a long wait, Russian ships Sparta I and Sparta II finally received permission from the new Syrian authorities to enter the port of Tartus. Satellite images from December 2024 show that about 175 different military vehicles were gathered there for evacuation.
Russia's difficulties in obtaining permission to enter the port are particularly notable, given that in 2019, Russia signed an agreement with the previous Syrian authorities, leasing the port of Tartus for 49 years.
This agreement is now void, and the Syrian authorities have terminated Russia's lease of the port. This means that Russia is losing its only naval base in the Mediterranean Sea, which enabled it to maintain a constant fleet presence in the region.
Russia is losing a base in the Middle East
The scale of the challenge for Russia in sending ships and vessels on long voyages is evident in the fact that only Sparta II reached the port without issues. The ship Sparta I broke down en route and was drifting along the coast of Spain, but the malfunction was resolved.
Russians also dispatched, among others, the landing ship Alexander Otrakovsky. This vessel reported a fuel leak problem. Another Russian ship, not involved in the evacuation—Ursa Major, which was carrying parts for the new Russian icebreaker—sank in the Mediterranean Sea after an explosion.
The most valuable equipment, such as the S-300 and S-400 anti-aircraft systems, was evacuated from Syria earlier. It was relocated to Libya, which agreed to accommodate Russian equipment and soldiers by providing them with the Al-Khadim base.
