Newsweek said that Russia's military presence at Tartus port (Syria) is declining after the collapse of the Bashar al-Assad regime, causing Moscow to face great strategic losses.
For more than 50 years, Tartus has been Russia's only naval supply and maintenance base in the Mediterranean, allowing Moscow to demonstrate its strength on the southern flank of NATO.
However, military analysts saw signs of Russia's withdrawal on December 3, when the rebel forces led by the group of jihadist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) overwhelmed the Syrian army. However, Moscow has repeatedly asserted that it was a drill.
On December 8, the General Intelligence Service of Ukraine said Russia had withdrawn warships from the port of Tartus, including the Admiral Grigorovich patrol ship and the Engineer Trubin cargo ship. Satellite images released on December 6 also showed that other warships such as the Admiral Gorshkov and Yelnya had left the Mediterranean.
On land, Russia has begun moving S-300, S-400 and Tor-M1 air defense systems out of Khmeimim air bases.
Pro- Moscow sources have also reported the withdrawal of Russian aircraft from the Khmeimim air base in Latakia (Syria). The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said this would have a major impact on Moscows military presence.
Experts from the ISW said that Russia's logistics and supply efforts would be disrupted, and military operations would also be weakened if they lost their base in Syria. This is almost beyond the control of a base transferred to neighboring areas such as Libya or Sudan due to a lack of infrastructure and formal agreements.
However, the Russian military may not face the risk of "losing home" because HTS has claimed to ensure the security of Russian military bases and Russian diplomatic facilities in Syria.
However, Edward Lucas, a senior fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis, said that the Assad regime has collapsed, so maintaining a military presence in Syria may no longer be in the hands of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
