File image.
A number of Ukrainian drone experts have been deployed in Syria, close to the country’s coastal region, Sham TV reported on April 13.
The opposition news outlet said that the Ukrainians took positions near the city of Qusayr in the southwestern countryside of the governorate of Homs. The abandoned Dabaa air base is located nearby, though it is unclear from the report if the experts are situated there.
Qusayr is close to the Syrian coastal region, where the Russian military maintains two bases — a naval base in the port of Tartus and Khmeimim Air Base close to the city of Jableh.
The war-torn city is also just a few kilometers away from the border with Lebanon’s Baalbek-Hermel governorate. It is considered a key smuggling route.
The report came just a week after a surprise visit by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to Syria, where he met President Ahmad al-Sharaa. The two leaders pledged greater security cooperation after wide-ranging discussions in Damascus, which were also attended by Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan.
“We managed to discuss everything: from security and defense issues and the situation in the region due to all the events around Iran to energy and infrastructure cooperation between our countries,” Zelensky said after the visit.
Quickly after the visit, rumors of Ukrainian experts visiting the Syrian coasts, including areas located very close to the Russian bases, began to emerge. However, there is still no evidence of such moves.
There has been, however, a clear military buildup by Syrian government forces in such areas, especially on heights overlooking the bases.
While Russia and the Syrian government maintain high levels of communications, an agreement on the future of Russian bases on the country’s coast is yet to be reached.
Speaking at Chatham House in London late last month, Sharaa said that Russian bases will be converted into training centers for Syrian government forces.
“Out of dozens of bases, only two remain, and we are trying to turn them into training bases for the Syrian army,” the Syrian president said, without deliberating.
Right after assuming power, Sharaa vowed to keep Syria one step away from all sides. However, his remarks from London, Zelensky’s visit and the reports that came out after all suggest that the country is being pushed in one way or another to take a certain stance on the bases and the relations with Russia in general.
Although highly unlikely, Ukraine could attempt to target Russian bases on the Syrian coast, from within the country, or even from neighboring Lebanon.
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alciada and the ukies have always been on same team and their coach big donny
international propaganda theater always requires puppets to blame to detract populations from the reality of their slavery. ireland is waking