Russia Flees Damascus: Abandoned Military Equipment, Command Shake-Up, Major Losses in Syria

In the Syrian capital of Damascus, armed clashes have erupted between rebels and government forces loyal to Bashar al-Assad, with the situation for Russians in Syria deteriorating rapidly.

As a result, Russian military personnel and diplomats have begun urgently evacuating the capital, Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence Directorate (HUR) reported on Monday, Dec. 2.

According to intelligence reports, opposition forces are actively advancing southward in Syria, with initial battles reported in the cities of Hama, Homs, and Suwayda.

“The aggressor state’s military contingent has fled from Hama and evacuated to the Khmeimim Air Base. The head of the Russian coordination headquarters located in Khmeimim, Col. Gen. Alexander Zhuravlyov, acknowledged that the Assad regime has lost control over the situation,” the report states.

Ukrainian intelligence also said that Russian forces have abandoned a military base in the city of Khan Shaykhun, leaving behind a significant stockpile of weapons and equipment. This hasty retreat raises many questions, as Russia previously had a stable presence in Syria.

Amid the chaotic withdrawal of Russian troops, Arab-language social media channels are abuzz with discussions about the resignation of the commander of the Russian contingent, Gen. Sergey Kiselyov.

Simultaneously, Col. Vadim Baykulov, who commanded a Russian special forces unit, has been urgently summoned to Moscow. He is expected to explain why his unit suffered losses and how military equipment in Aleppo ended up in enemy hands, intelligence reports reveal.

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On Sunday, Dec. 1, Kyiv Post reported that Russian forces are facing significant losses during battles in Syria, prompting Moscow to replace the commander of its troops in the country, the HUR reported on Sunday, Dec. 1. The Kremlin dismissed Kiselyov, who had been leading the group in Syria.

In his place, the Kremlin appointed Gen. Alexander Chayko who had already commanded Russian forces in Syria from 2017 to 2019.

According to the HUR, the commander of the Russian Navy, Adm. Alexander Moiseyev, has also appeared at the Russian naval base in Tartus.

HUR adds that “after three days of successful offensive actions by pro-Turkish forces in Syria, Russian troops suffered significant losses, with some units of the aggressor state surrounded. Hundreds of Moscow troops are listed as missing in Syria.”

The offensive thrust into Syria’s Aleppo governate that began on Nov. 27 is being carried out by a coalition of Islamist militant groups led by the Turkish-backed former Al Qaeda affiliated group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham.

According to reports on some Islamist social media sites, the rebel groups based in the Idlib region – which is said to include members of the Turkestan Islamic Party (TIP) – had received operational training from special forces troops from the Khimik group of the HUR. The training team focused on tactics developed during the war in Ukraine, including the use of drones.

The HUR’s Khimik group was credited with the attack on a Russian military base on the southeastern outskirts of Aleppo on Sept. 15, in which Russian attack drones and “camouflaged improvised explosive devices,” were destroyed according to a Kyiv Post military intelligence source.

At the end of July, Kyiv Post received several exclusive videos and photos showing the continuation of the special operation by HUR units to destroy Russian forces in Syria.

According to Kyiv Post sources in the special service, the Khimik group carried out another complex strike on Russian occupation forces in Syria in late July 2024. This time, the target of the attack was Russian military equipment at the Kuweires airfield, located east of Aleppo.

In early June, Kyiv Post also published exclusive footage of Ukrainian special forces attacking enemy checkpoints, strongholds, foot patrols, and columns of military equipment in the Golan Heights in Syria.

According to Kyiv Post’s HUR source, since the beginning of the year, insurgents with the support of Ukrainian fighters have struck numerous times against Russian military facilities under the control of the so-called Russian Armed Forces Group in the Syrian Arab Republic.