Russia withdraws military equipment from Syria's Tartous port, images show
Russia has stepped up its military withdrawal from Syria, removing vehicles and containers from its key Tartous port on the country's Mediterranean coast, analysis by BBC Verify suggests.After the fall of the Assad regime in December, verified footage showed columns of Russian vehicles moving north towards the port. Satellite images subsequently showed military hardware being stored there.But new images published on Wednesday by Planet Labs showed that much of the material has now disappeared, after the departure of vessels linked to the Russian military.It comes as Russian officials held "frank discussions" with the new government in Damascus, Reuters reported on Wednesday.
There have been reports that the new Syrian government has cancelled Russia's lease at the port - but government departments contacted by the BBC would not confirm a final decision had been made.Tartous has been a key base for Russia in recent years, allowing it to refuel, resupply and repair vessels in the Mediterranean. But warships previously docked at the port have not appeared in satellite images since the collapse of the Assad regime - which Moscow backed throughout the Syrian civil war.The Kremlin has signalled its desire to retain control over the base, and said in December that it was speaking to the new authorities about maintaining a presence there.However, evidence suggests that Moscow has now decided to move valuable equipment away from the port. Satellite images have also shown Russian hardware being removed from the nearby Hmeimim airbase for several weeks.Two vessels - Sparta and Sparta II - docked at Tartous on 21 and 22 January, ship tracking sites showed. Both vessels are owned by Oboronlogistika LLC - a shipping company which operates as part of the Russian ministry of defence.Both ships are sanctioned by the US and have been linked by Ukraine to the transportation of Russian arms. They are roll-on/roll-off vessels that can carry vehicles.Sparta II departed the port by Monday, according to data from the tracking website MarineTraffic. Satellite images also revealed that a large quantity of military vehicles previously parked near the vessel were no longer there.
The signal of the ship's onboard tracker was briefly picked up by MarineTraffic on Tuesday morning, showing it was travelling west through the Mediterranean near the coast of Cyprus. But since then, no signal has been received, suggesting the tracker may have been turned off.On Wednesday, satellite images showed another vessel - identified by experts as the Sparta - had also left the port. The images also show a large quantity of containers parked nearby had been removed.A signal from Sparta's onboard tracker has not been detected since it docked at Tartous - suggesting it may have been turned off as well. The International Maritime Organisation (IMO) requires all ships over 300 gross tonnes to broadcast their signal at all times, except in some limited circumstances.Ships may choose to turn off their tracking signal for legitimate reasons - such as when navigating high-risk piracy zones. But according to Nato it could also suggest the vessel is trying to "conceal illegal activities".Maritime expert Frederik Van Lokeren, a former Belgian navy lieutenant and analyst, said he was "highly confident" the vessel that had left the port was Sparta, based on satellite images.BBC Verify has previously monitored Sparta and the area where it had been docked is now empty.
It is unclear where exactly the ships are heading. Mr Van Lokeren told BBC Verify that they could be en route to Libya, where the Kremlin already boasts a significant military presence supporting the Tobruk-based warlord Khalifa Haftar.Last week, Ukrainian military intelligence told BBC Verify that Russian flights had transferred military personnel and equipment from Russia's other Syrian base - Hmeimim - to airbases in Libya at least 10 times since mid-December.However, Mr Van Lokeren also suggested that the ships could be bound for Russia, where he said there was a "large probability that the military equipment might end up being deployed on the frontline against Ukraine".Dmitry Gorenburg, an expert on security issues in the former Soviet Union at Harvard University, told BBC Verify that the movements suggested Russia's presence at Tartous was coming to an end."I don't know whether additional ships will be needed to remove everything or not, but to my mind that's largely immaterial," he said. "It's just a question of time until Russia's military presence at the base is concluded. We shall see what comes after."Graphics by Mark Edwards.
What do you want BBC Verify to investigate?
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Glasgow Times
17 minutes ago
- Glasgow Times
Ukraine says Russia launched 479 drones in war's biggest overnight bombardment
Apart from drones, 20 missiles of various types were fired at different parts of Ukraine, according to the air force, which said the barrage targeted mainly central and western areas of Ukraine. Ukraine's air defences destroyed 277 drones and 19 missiles in mid-flight, an air force statement said, claiming that only 10 drones or missiles hit their target. Officials said one person was injured. It was not possible to independently verify the claim. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said that in some areas 'the situation is very difficult' (Markus Schreiber/AP) A recent escalation in aerial attacks has coincided with a renewed Russian battlefield push on eastern and north-eastern parts of the roughly 1,000-kilometre (620-mile) front line. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said late on Sunday that in some of those areas 'the situation is very difficult'. He provided no details. Ukraine is short-handed on the front line against its bigger enemy and needs further military support from its Western partners, especially air defences. But uncertainty about the US policy on the war has fuelled doubts about how much help Kyiv can count on. Two recent rounds of direct peace talks between Russian and Ukrainian delegations in Istanbul have yielded no significant breakthroughs beyond pledges to swap prisoners as well as thousands of their dead and seriously wounded troops. Russia's aerial attacks usually start late in the evening and end in the morning, because drones are harder to spot in the dark. Russia has relentlessly battered civilian areas of Ukraine with Shahed drones during the more than three-year war. The attacks have killed more that 12,000 Ukrainian civilians, according to the United Nations. Russia says it targets only military targets. Ukraine has developed long-range drones that continue to strike deep inside Russia. Journalists gather near the motorcade of refrigerators of the first convoy carrying bodies of Ukrainian soldiers for repatriation at an exchange area near Novaya Guta, Belarus (Russian Defence Ministry Press Service via AP) Russia's Ministry of Defence said on Monday that it shot down 49 Ukrainian drones overnight over seven Russian regions. Two drones hit a plant specialising in electronic warfare equipment in the Chuvashia region, located more than 600 kilometres east of Moscow, local officials reported. Alexander Gusev, head of Russia's Voronezh region, said 25 drones had been shot down there overnight, damaging a gas pipeline and sparking a small fire. The Ukrainian General Staff claimed special operations forces forces struck two Russian fighter jets stationed at the Savasleyka airfield in Russia's Novgorod region located some 650 kilometres from the Ukrainian border. The statement did not say how the planes were struck.
Leader Live
19 minutes ago
- Leader Live
Ukraine says Russia launched 479 drones in war's biggest overnight bombardment
Apart from drones, 20 missiles of various types were fired at different parts of Ukraine, according to the air force, which said the barrage targeted mainly central and western areas of Ukraine. Ukraine's air defences destroyed 277 drones and 19 missiles in mid-flight, an air force statement said, claiming that only 10 drones or missiles hit their target. Officials said one person was injured. It was not possible to independently verify the claim. A recent escalation in aerial attacks has coincided with a renewed Russian battlefield push on eastern and north-eastern parts of the roughly 1,000-kilometre (620-mile) front line. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said late on Sunday that in some of those areas 'the situation is very difficult'. He provided no details. Ukraine is short-handed on the front line against its bigger enemy and needs further military support from its Western partners, especially air defences. But uncertainty about the US policy on the war has fuelled doubts about how much help Kyiv can count on. Two recent rounds of direct peace talks between Russian and Ukrainian delegations in Istanbul have yielded no significant breakthroughs beyond pledges to swap prisoners as well as thousands of their dead and seriously wounded troops. Russia's aerial attacks usually start late in the evening and end in the morning, because drones are harder to spot in the dark. Russia has relentlessly battered civilian areas of Ukraine with Shahed drones during the more than three-year war. The attacks have killed more that 12,000 Ukrainian civilians, according to the United Nations. Russia says it targets only military targets. Ukraine has developed long-range drones that continue to strike deep inside Russia. Russia's Ministry of Defence said on Monday that it shot down 49 Ukrainian drones overnight over seven Russian regions. Two drones hit a plant specialising in electronic warfare equipment in the Chuvashia region, located more than 600 kilometres east of Moscow, local officials reported. Alexander Gusev, head of Russia's Voronezh region, said 25 drones had been shot down there overnight, damaging a gas pipeline and sparking a small fire. The Ukrainian General Staff claimed special operations forces forces struck two Russian fighter jets stationed at the Savasleyka airfield in Russia's Novgorod region located some 650 kilometres from the Ukrainian border. The statement did not say how the planes were struck.
Powys County Times
27 minutes ago
- Powys County Times
Ukraine says Russia launched 479 drones in war's biggest overnight bombardment
Russia launched 479 drones at Ukraine in the war's biggest overnight drone bombardment, the Ukrainian air force said on Monday. Apart from drones, 20 missiles of various types were fired at different parts of Ukraine, according to the air force, which said the barrage targeted mainly central and western areas of Ukraine. Ukraine's air defences destroyed 277 drones and 19 missiles in mid-flight, an air force statement said, claiming that only 10 drones or missiles hit their target. Officials said one person was injured. It was not possible to independently verify the claim. A recent escalation in aerial attacks has coincided with a renewed Russian battlefield push on eastern and north-eastern parts of the roughly 1,000-kilometre (620-mile) front line. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said late on Sunday that in some of those areas 'the situation is very difficult'. He provided no details. Ukraine is short-handed on the front line against its bigger enemy and needs further military support from its Western partners, especially air defences. But uncertainty about the US policy on the war has fuelled doubts about how much help Kyiv can count on. Two recent rounds of direct peace talks between Russian and Ukrainian delegations in Istanbul have yielded no significant breakthroughs beyond pledges to swap prisoners as well as thousands of their dead and seriously wounded troops. Russia's aerial attacks usually start late in the evening and end in the morning, because drones are harder to spot in the dark. Russia has relentlessly battered civilian areas of Ukraine with Shahed drones during the more than three-year war. The attacks have killed more that 12,000 Ukrainian civilians, according to the United Nations. Russia says it targets only military targets. Ukraine has developed long-range drones that continue to strike deep inside Russia. Russia's Ministry of Defence said on Monday that it shot down 49 Ukrainian drones overnight over seven Russian regions. Two drones hit a plant specialising in electronic warfare equipment in the Chuvashia region, located more than 600 kilometres east of Moscow, local officials reported. Alexander Gusev, head of Russia's Voronezh region, said 25 drones had been shot down there overnight, damaging a gas pipeline and sparking a small fire. The Ukrainian General Staff claimed special operations forces forces struck two Russian fighter jets stationed at the Savasleyka airfield in Russia's Novgorod region located some 650 kilometres from the Ukrainian border.
