What’s New
A Russian cargo ship carrying personnel and military equipment out of Syria has broken down at sea, complicating Moscow’s efforts to withdraw its forces from the once Kremlin-aligned nation.
“The cargo ship Sparta, which Russia sent to evacuate its weapons and equipment from Syria, broke down while underway—the fuel pipe of the main engine failed,” Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate (HUR) reported on Monday. “The Russian crew is trying to fix the problem and is drifting in the open sea near Portugal.”
Newsweek was unable to independently identify the ship or its reported route from Syria, and has reached out to the HUR for further information.
According to tracking website Vesselfinder, a ship en route to Vladivostok is currently stationary in the waters between Spain and Algeria. The Kyiv Independent noted that this ship was previously registered under the name Sparta III.
Why It Matters
This incident highlights the logistical challenges Russia faces in withdrawing its military assets from Syria following the recent collapse of Bashar al-Assad’s regime.
Following the shock offensive by oppositionist forces, which swept through the Western portions of Syria before capturing Damascus on December 8, Russia has been forced to reevaluate its presence in the formerly Kremlin-aligned country.
Assad’s downfall has initiated a large-scale withdrawal of its military forces from the country, and those remaining have consolidated around the Khmeimim Air Base in Latakia and the Tartus Naval Base, a leased installation which grants Moscow access to the Mediterranean.
Last week, Ukraine’s Intelligence Directorate reported that Russia had begun evacuating its warships from the Tartus naval base, and airlifting weaponry from Khmeimim.
What To Know
Amid concerns that Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, the rebel group leading the uprising and now in control of most of Syria, may not be as accommodating to its presence in the country, Russia is reportedly attempting to transfer its military installations to Africa.
The New York Times, citing Libyan officers, reported that Russia had dispatched cargo planes loaded with military equipment to Libya. Additionally, Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto told La Repubblica that Moscow is moving resources from its Tartus facility to the North African nation.
Efforts to do so have been put in doubt, however, after Libyan Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh said that his country “will not accept the entry of any foreign force except through official agreements and for the purpose of training.”
A five-year agreement to establish a naval base in Sudan has also reportedly collapsed, with Sudanese officials telling The Moscow Times that the incumbent government has formally rejected Russia’s request to do so.
What People Are Saying
Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, via X, formerly Twitter: “Didn’t make it—ship to evacuate Russian troops from Syria broke down in the open sea.”
What Happens Next
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said that the collapse of Assad’s government could lead to the loss of Russia’s naval base in Tartus, which it has in the past leveraged to “project power in the Mediterranean Sea, threaten NATO‘s southern flank, and link its Black Sea assets to the Mediterranean Sea.”
“Russia could seek to leverage its presence in Libya or Sudan as alternatives, but the lack of formal agreements with these countries and insufficient infrastructure makes them inadequate substitutes,” ISW analysts noted. “The collapse of Assad’s regime and Russia’s inability to preserve the regime will also damage Russia’s global image as a reliable ally, threatening its influence with African autocrats whom Russia seeks to support and its broader geopolitical objective to posture as a global superpower.”
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