GUR: Russian troops and diplomats are leaving the capital of Syria

The situation for the Russians in Syria is getting worse, Russian troops and diplomats are starting to leave the countryʼs capital, Damascus.

This was reported by the Main Directorate of Intelligence (known as GUR) of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.

They claim that the opposition is actively advancing to the south of the country, the first battles have already taken place in the cities of Hama, Homs and Suwayda.

Russian troops also fled from Hama and evacuated to the Khmeimim base. The head of the coordination headquarters of the Russians located in Khmeimim, Colonel-General Oleksandr Zhuravlev, said that the situation was out of the control of the Assad regime.

The Russians also escaped from the military base in the city of Khan Sheikhoun, leaving behind a significant arsenal of weapons and equipment.

The commander of the Russian special forces unit Vadim Baikulov will explain in Moscow why the personnel subordinate to him suffered casualties, and the military equipment in Aleppo was captured by the opposition.

GUR notes that on December 1, Russian planes came under airstrikes in the areas of Khan Sheikhun — the aim of the attack was probably to destroy the military equipment of the Russian Federation, which had passed into the hands of the opposition forces.

What preceded

Active clashes between the rebels and Syrian troops began on November 27. The offensive was launched by the Syrian Revolutionary Forces in "response to months of continuous attacks on civilians" by the Assad regime in Aleppo province. It was the most intense fighting in northwest Syria since 2020, when government forces seized areas previously controlled by opposition fighters. It is also the biggest advance by opposition fighters on the city since they were pushed out of the eastern districts in 2016.

On November 30, the Syrian Armed Forces declared a "temporary withdrawal" from Aleppo to prepare for a counteroffensive against opposition groups.

On December 1, GUR informed that Russian troops were suffering losses during the fighting in Syria. Against this background, the Russian Federation changed the commander of forces in the region. He became General Oleksandr Chaiko, who commanded a group of Russian troops in Syria in 2017-2019.

After three days of successful offensive actions by pro-Turkish forces in Syria, Russian troops have suffered significant losses, some Russian units are surrounded. GUR noted that it currently knows about "hundreds" of Russians who are considered missing there.

Arab broadcasters said Syriaʼs second-largest city — Aleppo — had fallen out of government control for the first time since the military conflict began more than a decade ago.

Civil war in Syria

The civil war in Syria has been going on since 2011. It began as a local confrontation, which gradually turned into an uprising against the regime of Bashar al-Assad. Over time, it involved not only the main states of the region, but also international organizations, military-political groups and other countries.

The main participants in the conflict are regular military formations that support President Bashar Assad, formations of the "moderate" Syrian opposition, Kurdish regionalists, as well as various terrorist groups. The parties to the conflict receive military aid from other countries: government forces are supported by Russia and Iran, while the Syrian opposition receives aid from Western countries, Turkey and the Gulf monarchies.

The Iranian-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah also aided the Assad regime in the civil war and had a presence in Syria. However, it has now concentrated its forces in Lebanon to repel the Israeli offensive in the south of the country. During this conflict, Hezbollah lost thousands of fighters, as well as its commanders and leader Hassan Nasrallah.

As for Russiaʼs support, it has come to the aid of President Bashar Assad since 2011. Russia sent weapons to the country, which were accumulated by the Syrian troops, and also kept its own military bases with weapons there. In 2015, the Russians began fighting on the territory of Syria together with Hezbollah fighters. Now, videos and photos are being circulated on social networks, in which fighters from the Syrian opposition allegedly captured Russian military equipment, in particular machine guns and tanks.

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