Guno צְבִי
We fight, We win, Am Yisrael Chai
Russia has begun withdrawing a large amount of military equipment and troops from Syria following the ouster of former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, according to two US officials and a western official familiar with the intelligence.
The officials characterized the Russian withdrawal as large-scale and significant and said it began last week, but it is not clear whether it will be permanent, the officials noted.
Two of the US officials said that the Russians have begun moving naval assets from Syria to Libya, and a separate defense official said Moscow has increased pressure on Libyan National Army commander Khalifa Haftar to secure Russia’s claim to a port in Benghazi.
Without a Libyan port, and if they are forced to abandon Tartus in Syria, the Russians would be left without a Mediterranean sea port to project power on NATO’s southern flank, the official said. The loss of Tartus, even temporarily, will also make it harder for Russia to move illicit materials between Russia and Africa, the defense official said.
Cargo planes registered to Russia’s Ministry of Emergency Situations have also reached Libya’s al-Khadim base at least seven times in under a week, flight records and satellite imagery show. Historically, the airbase has been a jumping-off point for Russian operations in Africa — including for the notorious Wagner Group to arm Sudanese paramilitary forces accused of war crimes.
CNN reported last week that Russia appeared to be loading and preparing aircraft to leave its military bases in Syria, according to satellite images collected by Maxar on Friday morning.
news.yahoo.com
The officials characterized the Russian withdrawal as large-scale and significant and said it began last week, but it is not clear whether it will be permanent, the officials noted.
Two of the US officials said that the Russians have begun moving naval assets from Syria to Libya, and a separate defense official said Moscow has increased pressure on Libyan National Army commander Khalifa Haftar to secure Russia’s claim to a port in Benghazi.
Without a Libyan port, and if they are forced to abandon Tartus in Syria, the Russians would be left without a Mediterranean sea port to project power on NATO’s southern flank, the official said. The loss of Tartus, even temporarily, will also make it harder for Russia to move illicit materials between Russia and Africa, the defense official said.
Cargo planes registered to Russia’s Ministry of Emergency Situations have also reached Libya’s al-Khadim base at least seven times in under a week, flight records and satellite imagery show. Historically, the airbase has been a jumping-off point for Russian operations in Africa — including for the notorious Wagner Group to arm Sudanese paramilitary forces accused of war crimes.
CNN reported last week that Russia appeared to be loading and preparing aircraft to leave its military bases in Syria, according to satellite images collected by Maxar on Friday morning.
Russian military has begun large-scale withdrawal from Syria, US and Western officials say
Russia has begun withdrawing a large amount of military equipment and troops from Syria following the ouster of former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, according to two US officials and a western official familiar with the intelligence.
