Vladimir Putin has been warned Russian military personnel and equipment is now “stranded” in Syria after the dramatic collapse of Bashar al-Assad’s regime.
The dictator fled the country’s capital, Damascus, at the weekend and has been flown to Moscow at the personal insistence of Putin himself.
However, Russian blogger Anastasia Kashevarova, who has frequently criticised her country’s military leadership – but not Putin himself – told her President he needed to be concerned about the situation which had been left behind.
Posting on Telegram, she explained: “Bashar al-Assad is in Moscow, and our military is stuck and blocked in Syria, Libya, Africa.
“Our bases have been completely blocked, no one is allowed in or out, all transportation routes have been cut off for now.
“Khmeimim is surrounded by fighters (Russian Foreign Ministry calls it the opposition) – fighters are at checkpoints, and on duty inside the base. There are periodic attempts at provocations, shelling at some bases.”
Tartus, a Syrian port which is an important centre for Russian operations, was “abandoned”, with ships with military personnel in the coastal zone, Kashevarova explained.
She continued: “The preliminary agreement on the stay of our contingent is 75 days. After that, withdrawal.
“There are instructors, consultants, the “African Corps”, the Ministry of Defence and the Special Operations Forces at the Russian military bases. Our people are holding on bravely, all are ready, if anything happens.”
Frantic negotiations were now taking place between Russia, Turkey, Iran and others, she pointed out – but the future remained unclear.
Kashevarova stressed: “The issue of Russia’s military bases in Syria is open, if there was already a guarantee, then no one would shell them and our people could move freely.
“Then our stranded military could fly out of Khmeimim. And now the question of how to get them out of there by sea is being considered.”
If Russia eventually pulled out of Syria, then the point of the Defence Ministry’s African Corps would be “destroyed”, Kashevarova warned.
She added: “By losing Syria, including as a transportation hub, we lose access to Africa. Russia’s withdrawal from Syria will give Turkey an opportunity to become a player in the European energy market.
“Building a pipeline to Europe. Russian bases can be used as a way to induce Russia to make peace on terms acceptable to Ukraine and the US.”
Many “on the sidelines” had framed Syria as a “trade-off between powers”, Kashevarova argued.
In a vitriolic swipe at the West, she declared: “Perhaps it is, but without Russia. Because the benefits for Russia are not visible, and how can one play barter and agreements with those who have never fulfilled international treaties and obligations.
“They spit on all agreements, including the Minsk agreements.”
Video footage yesterday showed Syrian rebel fighters have destroying and setting fire to the tomb of late president Hafez al-Assad, the ousted president’s father.
The clip shows armed men chanting as they walked around the burning mausoleum in Qardaha, in the north-west of the coastal Latakia region.
Statues and posters of late president Hafez and his son have been pulled down across the country to cheers from Syrians celebrating the end of their rule.
