Russia withdraws naval assets from Tartus port, amid rebel advance in Syria

Russia is withdrawing its naval assets from its strategic base in Syria’s port city of Tartus, as the Syrian opposition groups continue to further advance throughout the north-west and centre of the country.

According to open-source intelligence analysts and the outlet, Naval News, a Russian vessel – the auxiliary Yelena, a Project 160 Altay class oiler – stationed at the Tartus base was seen departing the port early on Monday this week, with satellite imagery later showing that Russia had removed another auxiliary vessel, three frigates, and a submarine from the facility.

🚨update🚨
🇷🇺Med Sea Flotilla🇷🇺
📷 from 3 December 2024 confirms the Med Sea flotilla has departed Tartus, likely on 2 December

The departed vessels include: 3x frigates (2x Gorshkov class | 1x Grigorovich class), 1x Improved Kilo and 2x auxiliaries https://t.co/VNSTRH4ITq pic.twitter.com/S3dT1RzVw8

— MT Anderson (@MT_Anderson) December 3, 2024

The visual intelligence revealed that the move amounted to Russia having removed all of its vessels that it had stationed at Tartus, with the fleet reportedly likely having departed on Monday 2 December and expected to return to Russia at the Baltic Sea via the Mediterranean. Such details remain unverified, however.

By assisting the Syrian regime under Bashar Al-Assad in pushing back opposition forces and helping regime forces recapture much of the country’s territory, Damascus leased the naval facility in Tartus to Russia for the next 49 years, free of charge and with Moscow’s complete sovereign jurisdiction.

While some Russian military bloggers are reported to cite the move as being related to training exercises in the eastern Mediterranean this week, the Russian Ministry of Defence has apparently denied that claim.

Although the reason for the move has not yet been confirmed or commented on in any official capacity, it is thought to most likely be due to the rapid advance of Syrian rebels throughout the north-west, west and centre of the country, having captured the major city of Aleppo and currently on the verge of seizing the major city of Hama – less than a hundred kilometres away from Tartus.

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